Bangladesh will host the first-ever virtual V20 Climate Vulnerables Finance Summit on Thursday aimed at shaping up a cooperative responses of the problems related to global warming and climate change.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), will open the Summit, which will be attended by the Heads of States and Governments from the CVF member countries, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told reporters at a virtual briefing on Wednesday.
He said major International Financial Institutions, including the Secretary General of the United Nations and representatives from G7 and G20 will to attend the mega event scheduled to be held from 7:30 pm to 9:50 pm.
READ: PM to open V20 Finance Summit Thursday
He said the event is poised to become one of the most crucial and eminent platforms for decisive climate action in the lead up to COP26 Glasgow.
The CVF member nations include Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, and the Marshall Islands; V20 finance ministers from countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Ethiopia, Fiji, Grenada, Honduras, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Sri Lanka; along with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change of Bangladesh.
Formed in 2015 the V20 Group of Finance Ministers, Mustafa Kamal said, this forum is a dedicated cooperation initiative of economies systematically vulnerable to climate change.
The finance minister said the V20 represents economies of a collective 1.2 billion people from 48 countries which are the most affected by the climate change and they are facing existential threats from its growing perils.
He said that collectively, V20 countries will seek a transformational approach to global economic activities anchored in keeping global warming to below 1.5 degree Celsius while keeping the global economy on its growth path.
“We are going to set a clear pathway overcoming the real crisis of Covid-19 and climate change towards a recovery and climate prosperity as a whole.
He said government and international agencies must seize every opportunity for protection of the most vulnerable communities through a close cooperation with the United Nations sand key development partners in order to ensure fast-tracked efforts in building resilience.
Responding to a question, Kamal said there is almost zero emissions in the coal-fired power plants which Bangladesh is building for its economic needs. “We use the highest quality coal in these plants”.
READ: Bangladesh to host V20 Climate Vulnerables Finance Summit on July 8
He also claimed that Bangladesh has been spending more than $2 billion every year to mitigate climate vulgarities.
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Md. Shahab Uddin; Special Envoy of CVF Presidency of Bangladesh, Md. Abul Kalam Azad; Secretary of Economic Relations Division Fatima Yasmin and Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Md. Mostafa Kamal, also spoke at the press briefing.