Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Environment Saber Hossain Chowdhury, who is attending the COP28 conference in Dubai, said the hearing on fossil fuels in this year’s summit confirms that if the temperature rises above 1.5 degrees, it will be destructive for everyone.
"The UN Secretary-General has called on all developed countries to give up the use of fossil fuels by 2030. For developing countries like us, this time limit will be extended. However, there is also a discussion in this year’s climate conference about how we can work together to prevent this temperature rise.”
The 2023 World Climate Conference (COP28) began in Dubai on November 30 and will continue till 12 December 2023. Heads of governments and representatives of 198 countries participated in the 13-day conference.
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At the conference, Saber Hossain Chowdhury has called for the creation of an integrated, universal and inclusive international financing mechanism to meet the rising costs of tackling climate shocks.
Scientists attending the COP28 conference say that plans should be made to reduce the use of fossil fuels following a scientific mechanism.
However, as talks began for the sixth day at Dubai's Expo City on Wednesday, a new report revealed that carbon emissions from fossil fuels set a new record in 2023, despite years of promises from the developed world to cut back on the sue of fossil fuels.
According to the report, the carbon emission situation worsened in the last two years. The emission will reach 40.9 gigatons this year.
Also read: UN agency cites worrying warming trend as COP28 summit grapples with curbing climate change
This new report by 120 scientists from around the world warns that the world is on the verge of crossing five catastrophic climate tipping points due to carbon pollution in the atmosphere. If the Earth's average temperature is warmer than 1.5 degrees Celsius, three more will be visible within 2030.
Members of the Bangladesh delegation and environmental experts accused the developed world of investing more in fossil fuels while talking about rule of law and human rights at the same time.
Despite the concessions made by various heads of states in the previous climate conferences regarding huge losses the developing world is suffering due to fossil fuels, the affected states have not seen any significant action in comparison.
Dr Farhina Ahmed, a member of the representative of Bangladesh and secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, told UNB that Bangladesh is making active demands on behalf of the climate vulnerable states.
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“Since the beginning of the COP28, members of the Bangladesh delegation including me were participating in various side events. Bangladesh will prioritise increasing global stocktakes, mitigation funds, adaptation targets, climate finance and adaptation funding,” said Farhina Ahmed.
The secretary also said that Bangladesh will play a strong role in the COP28 conference to ensure that the developed countries contribute $100 billion every year till 2025 to combat climate change in developing countries, finalise the definition of climate finance, double adaptation financing, 'operationalise' the loss and damage fund and fix its 'detailed arrangement', and to formulate the framework or formulation of the global goal of adaptation 'Global Goal on Adaptation'.
She said Bangladesh needs more than $8.5 billion every year under the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan.
“We are not a high carbon emitting country, but a helpless victim [to the effects of carbon emission. We are working together with the affected countries to prevent temperature rise. At the end of the discussion at COP28, we hope that the affected countries, including Bangladesh, will get a result.”
The ongoing climate conference (COP28) in the Expo City of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, has started with a pledge to raise funds. From the first day of the conference to the seventh day, the issue of climate financing has gained importance.
Meanwhile, environmentalists participating in the summit say that the Dubai climate conference has warned that all the other important commitments to tackle climate change could be overshadowed if the conference only focuses on climate financing.
Countries participating in the COP28 conference believe that nuclear energy can be a potential alternative in reducing the amount of carbon.
"This is going to be the most suitable alternative compared to all other sources of energy," US climate ambassador John Kerry said at the conference.
“Without the use of nuclear energy, it is not possible to reduce the amount of carbon in the environment to zero by 2050. This is a scientific reality, there is no politics or ideology involved in it.
On Wednesday, 75 scientists from the Club of Rome wrote an open letter to the COP28 leadership. They also protested against the statement of the COP president.
In the open letter, they said that stopping the use of fossil fuels and science complements each other.
“One is related to the other. There is no doubt about science in this regard,” the letter reads.
“If the Paris Agreement aims to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, there is no alternative to stopping fossil fuels. By 2050, it is not enough to ensure zero carbon emissions, but new technologies will have to be developed to absorb the carbon dioxide that will exist in the world by that time.”
Since the new report regarding carbon emission was published, climate activists are protesting inside the climate conference centre throughout the day demanding that the decision to stop fossil fuels should be taken at the COP28.