Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shahab Uddin has said that Bangladesh will urge the developed countries for $100 billion that they had promised to provide to the countries affected by climate change at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of The Parties, popularly called COP27.

In an interview with UNB, the minister also said that Bangladesh expects the world leaders to implement Glasgow-Sharm El-Sheikh Work Program on The Global Goal on Adaptation at this year’s climate conference.

COP27 is taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from 6-18 November 2022 where Bangladesh is playing a crucial role as one of the top actors on behalf of the vulnerable countries that are desperate to get funds to tackle the impacts of climate change.

“To implement the National Adaptation Plan prepared by the Bangladesh government, we need $230 billion till 2030. We hope that international organisations like the United Nations will help us execute the plan effectively,” Shahab said.

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He said that allocation of funds by the rich countries, which are the top emitters of harmful carbon dioxide, would top Bangladesh’s demand at COP27.

“According to the Standing Committee on Finance, the developing nations need $8.8 to $9.9 trillion till 2030 to deal with the climate change-induced losses. Besides, the rich countries need to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas by 45 percent within 2030 to keep the rise of temperature at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Bangladesh will strongly urge the developed countries to take these facts into cognizance,” Shahab said.

Asked about what happened to the Paris Agreement, the minister added that the decisions laid out in the agreement haven’t been implemented yet.

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“Developed countries are yet to provide their promised money to the Green Climate Fund. A decision was taken to equally distribute the money of the fund among the climate vulnerable countries, which is yet to happen. Besides, developing countries haven’t recovered from the losses caused by climate change yet. These issues will be discussed at COP27,” Shahab added.

Shahab also said that although Bangladesh is a victim of impacts of climate change, the country doesn’t contribute to the rise in temperature.

“Bangladesh’s per capita per area greenhouse gas emission was at .2 tons a decade ago. This amount has increased to .6 tons in recent years due to urbanisation and industrialisation. On the contrary, developed countries emit 10 to 15 tons of greenhouse gas, while the amount is 4 to 5 tons in rapidly developing countries. Although Bangladesh doesn’t contribute to climate change, unfortunately we’re one of the worst victims of this calamity,” Shahab said.

Shahab added that Bangladesh has been witnessing a surge in the signs of climate change for the last couple of years.

“Rivers created from the glacial lakes (lakes formed through the melting of ice) are falling into the Bay of Bengal crisscrossing Bangladesh. This water system is having adverse impacts due to climate change. Sea level is rising and salinity is increasing, while irregular and excessive rain is happening. In a nutshell, all the signs of climate change are now visible in our country,” Shahab added.

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Asked about Bangladesh’s preparations to face climate change, Shahab said that the government has beefed up its activities to reduce the risks posed by the global crisis.

“To tackle climate change, the government has taken up a total of 789 projects at a cost of Tk 3,362.32 crore. The entire amount has already been allocated for the execution of the projects.

Besides, the drafts of National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan 2022-2041 have also been finalised,” Shahab said.