Shawdesh Desk:

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the world has to share the responsibility of climate migrants and address the issue of losses and damages caused by climate change.

“Without ambitious mitigation efforts, only adaptation measures are not enough to slow, stop and reverse the adverse impacts of climate change,” she said.

The Prime Minister said this while delivering her keynote speech titled “Call for Climate Prosperity” at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.

Speaker Alison Johnstone received Sheikh Hasina on her arrival at the Scottish Parliament. Sheikh Rehana and CVF Thematic Ambassador Saima Wazed Hossain were present.

Sheikh Hasina reiterated that the major gas-emitting countries must submit and implement aggressive nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

She said the developed countries must fulfill their commitment of providing 100 billion dollars annually for addressing climate change to the developing countries, with a special focus on the climate vulnerable countries.

“These amounts should be in addition to the existing ODA, and there needs to be synergy among the different climate funds. The distribution of the climate fund should have a 50:50 ratio between adaptation and mitigation,” she added.

The Prime Minister emphasized the dissemination of green technology from developed countries to developing countries at an affordable cost.

She said the global leaders have gathered in Glasgow to demonstrate resolve and ambition on climate action combining their global collective efforts to respond to the unprecedented challenges and risks of the adverse impacts of climate change from which no country is immune.

Referring to the recently published IPCC 6 Assessment report, she said it is another wake-up call for all to take decisive action now to save the planet from temperature rise that cannot be reversed, and a climate disaster.

“We’re facing the most serious global challenge of humankind. It’s a major threat to climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh though we contribute less than 0.47 per cent of global emissions,” she observed.

Hasina mentioned that extreme temperature, erratic rainfall, flood and drought, more intense tropical cyclones, sea-level rise, seasonal variation, river erosion, ocean acidification are causing severe negative impacts on the lives and livelihoods of millions of the people of Bangladesh and other climate vulnerable countries.

“Sea-level rise induced by global warming is a serious threat for Bangladesh. With a 1-metre rise of sea level, tens of millions of people in the coastal area of Bangladesh will be displaced,” she said.

Hasina said every year 2 percent of the country’s GDP is lost due to the adverse impact of climate change, and it may go up to 9 percent in the coming decades. “Bangladesh has already six million climatically displaced population with an additional burden of 1.1 million Myanmar Rohingyas.”

Besides, the Covid-19 pandemic has created additional challenges to address, said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister said although Bangladesh is climate vulnerable, it is globally recognised for its resilience. The government, with its own financing, has established the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF).

Under this fund, Bangladesh has taken 800 projects so far with the investment of USD 480 million, which mainly focuses on adaptation, mitigation, and climate change research, she said.

The government has adopted the “Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100”, a comprehensive 100-year strategic plan aimed at gradual, sustainable development through adaptive delta management process targets to achieve a safe, climate-resilient and prosperous delta, Hasina added.

Currently, the country is advancing and formulating a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) that will significantly enhance its adaptation ambition, she added.

“Bangladesh revised and submitted an updated NDC on August 26, 2021, enhancing unconditional and conditional contribution with ambitious quantifiable mitigation targets,” the Prime Minister said.

Bangladesh is also committed to following a progressive approach to developing its economy on a low carbon pathway.  “We’ve recently cancelled 10 projects of coal-based power plants worth 12 billion dollars of investment.”

In Bangladesh, she said, 6.5 million households have solar power for domestic use, one of the largest amounts of off-grid solar power generation in the world. “We’ve the target of generating 40 percent of our energy from renewable sources by 2041.”

“We’re also procuring electric locomotives for our mass transit system, further reducing our carbon footprint,” she said.

Bangladesh has already started working to introduce a significant number of electric cars within the next few years. Charging stations for these cars will be set up all across the country, she added.

In celebration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she said, “We are planting 30 million saplings across the country. Additionally, to reduce the risk of death from lightning strikes, the government has planted 5.4 million palm trees, further contributing to carbon sink.”

As the country needs to focus on overcoming risks and becoming prosperous despite those prevailing risks managing the adverse risks of climate change, so the government set its trajectory from one of vulnerability to resilience to prosperity (VRP), she said.

The Prime Minister said Bangladesh will soon launch the “Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan,” a strategic investment framework to mobilise financing, including through international cooperation, for implementing renewable energy generation and climate resilient initiatives.

“Our Delta Plan 2100 has also been taken into account while developing the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan. We’re also planning to re-build and reinforce the embankments in the coastal region as well as in the areas prone to river erosion as part of our adaptation measures,” she added.

She hopes to establish solar panels and wind turbines on these embankments for supplying power to the national grid. The net metering system where even domestic households with solar panels can contribute to the national grid, and then get their bills adjusted accordingly, will also be an effective tool in our prosperity plan.

“We expect to achieve transformative change through MCPP by leapfrogging on a number of technological and economic fronts. We also hope to be able to access the global funds available for green investment and enhance the quality of education and capacity building of our youth,” she said.

This will help Bangladesh to reach the target of a developed country status faster, she hoped.