‘Big emitters to drastically lessen greenhouse gases’

Bangladesh has said big emitters must go for rapid mitigation of GHGs (Greenhouse Gases) apart from providing financial resources and ensuring technology transfer to the vulnerable countries for their adaptation efforts, reports UNB.

"This would be the most effective response to the threats to international peace and security posed by climate change and related disasters," said permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations ambassador Masud Bin Momen.
He said halting of global climate change and reducing disaster risks will largely depend on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework to their true letter and spirit.

"We must redouble our efforts for sustainable development. Bangladesh is of the firm view that climate change and related disasters must be discussed in the mold of international development cooperation," said ambassador Momen.

He made the remark while addressing the open debate on 'addressing the impacts of climate-related disasters on international peace and security' in the UN headquarters on Friday.

Bangladesh is one of the worst affected countries by the impacts of global climate change due to its geographical location and is highly prone to natural disasters such as cyclone, flood, landslide and earthquake, said the envoy.

"Climate change poses an existential threat to our 160 million people, although we had hardly contributed to the deterioration of the environment," he mentioned.

Just 1-degree centigrade increase of global temperature and further sea level rise, he said, will result into inundation of a large area of Bangladesh and thus displacement of 40 million people by the end of this century.

The recently adopted Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration has also acknowledged that investing in, and accelerating global cooperation for, climate change mitigation and adaptation would contribute to the elimination of the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin, he said.

Bangladesh emphasised that effective implementation of Paris Agreement and other relevant global documents and mechanisms is must to fight the climate change effects.
"We are not ignoring the fact that there could be a nexus between climate change and international peace and security, especially in some places for example in Africa and SIDS countries," he added.

It is required that the whole UN system should work together to improve our knowledge and understanding to find out if climate change poses any direct threat to peace and security in a specific locality or it is one of the multiplying factors, he said.

The whole UN system should also talk in one voice for preventing and resolving any crisis that is an evident outcome of adverse effects of climate change, he added.

Ambassador Momen said climate change induced salinity and other disasters are harming rice and other crop production significantly. "In addition to all these, we have been hosting 1.1 million Rohingyas forcibly displaced from the neighbouring Myanmar. This phenomenon is also impacting our environment severely."

In line with this perspective, he said, under the leadership of its climate crusader prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh is carrying forward its efforts for sustainable development with specific plans for 'Carbon budgeting', 'de-carbonisation of manufacturing pathways' and low-carbon industrialisation.

"Considering multidimensional vulnerabilities posed by climate change and disasters, our government has recently adopted Delta Plan 2100, which will provide Bangladesh with the sustainable development pathway for the next 100 years," said ambassador Momen.

He said Bangladesh is committed to implement its Nationally Determined Contributions in the framework of the Paris Agreement.

The ambassador said despite numerous challenges, at the national level Bangladesh has been able to reduce casualties in incidents of natural disasters in recent times by taking various measures such as improvement in early warning system, dissemination of information, establishment of cyclone shelters and active engagement of dedicated Cyclone Preparedness Programme volunteers for preparedness and response activities.
"Taken together, these initiatives have significantly increased the nation's capacity to respond proactively to disasters," he added.