POBNEWS24, Dhaka Nov 9, 2022 : At no other time in human history has the challenge of climate change proven more pressing; On this planet, which we call home and which we share with every species, we have never faced more danger than this.
However, motivational speeches and inspirational language are now just empty feelings. Scientists have long called for stronger action, but have received nothing but empty rhetoric.
Words are not enough for the people of Sylhet, Bangladesh, who are facing the worst floods in a century.
Words 
could not stop flash floods from sweeping away their homes, destroying their livelihoods, killing their loved ones, and tweets of support or small aid packages were not enough for the 33 million people affected by floods in Pakistan last month. Instead, what I’m calling for today is action—action to meet the commitments made at COP-26 at the United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow last year, to help countries like mine face the harshest realities of a warming planet. As world leaders prepare to gather again—this time in Sharm el-Sheikh—I call on my esteemed colleagues to find ways to keep the promises they made. To double funding alongside adaptation by at least 2025.
Receiving this promised financial support from developed countries should be considered a moral obligation and is vital for climate-vulnerable countries like mine. It cannot be left for a future date. However, we are fighting the broader consequences of climate change and if the battle is to continue right now, immediate aid is needed.
Bangladesh currently contributes 0.56 percent to global carbon emissions, yet the proportion of our country’s losses due to climate change is overwhelming. Sea-level rise, coastal erosion, drought, heat, and flooding—all will have severe impacts on our economy. They will destroy our infrastructure and agricultural industries, as we face considerable challenges in preventing, mitigating and addressing the damage and loss associated with the impacts of climate change, including extremes and slow events.
According to one study, our GDP is expected to decline significantly due to human-caused warming, and average incomes are projected to drop by 90 percent by 2100. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report estimates that poverty in Bangladesh will increase by about 15 percent by 2030 due to climate change.
Faced with such a bleak forecast, it would be easy to become depressed, when calls for urgent action go unheard and progress is so slow. It would be so easy to succumb to the paralysis of anxiety—but we must resist it. And that is what we are doing in Bangladesh.
In the face of such serious threats, we have so far been able to achieve relatively vibrant and consistent growth. We also unveiled the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan to address climate change issues, from decarbonizing our energy network to green investment initiatives—that will enrich rather than harm our trajectory both now and in the future.
We were the first developing country to adopt a comprehensive climate change strategy and action plan in 2009. So far we have allocated 480 million to implement various adaptation and mitigation programs.
Currently we are implementing a housing project for climate refugees in our coastal district of Cox’s Bazar. In this project, we are planning to construct 139 multi-storied buildings to shelter around 5000 climate refugee families. During my 18 years as Prime Minister, my government has provided houses to around 3.5 lakh people till date. In the meantime we have adopted ‘Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100’; It aims to create a safe, climate-resilient and prosperous delta. Every year my team plants millions of saplings to increase our country’s tree cover.
As the former chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and the V-20, Bangladesh continues to focus on promoting the interests of climate-vulnerable countries. It is not enough to just survive; We want to be successful. To be a world leader, to show our neighbors and the world that there is still a path to a hopeful future; But we can’t do it alone. The words of the international community must be translated into action.
Agreeing to raise $40 billion in adaptation funding to Glasgow must be seen as an early investment in our common future. Otherwise the cost of inaction will be immense. Last year’s IPCC Working Group II report already warned that global GDP losses could range from 10 to 23 percent by 2100, much higher than previously predicted.
Each passing year highlights more strongly the deeply interconnected nature of our planet in the 21st century; Supply lines and energy dependence cast a long shadow over us all. This year has already brought more record-breaking temperature events around the world, with temperatures in the UK surpassing 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in recorded history.
Climate change, damage and destruction is already with us, wherever we look, it is happening around the world in countless ways, and the problems facing climate-sensitive countries like ours will soon be at the doorstep of other nations.
If we have any hope of meeting this great challenge, we must recognize that the floods in Bangladesh, the wildfires in California, the drought in Europe, the 1.2 degree temperature rise—are all interconnected and must be addressed together.
The promises made last year must be fulfilled, only then will the promises finally lead to action.
Author: Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of
Bangladesh
