The vital United Nations climate talks, billed as one of the last chances to stave off climate breakdown, are taking place from November 6-18 in Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh amid a multitude of competing crises, including the war in Ukraine, high inflation, food shortages and an energy crunch. Negotiators are spending frantic days discussing whether to formally consider the issue of loss and damage, or reparations, to vulnerable nations suffering from climate change, and the issues, which weighed on the talks for years. For Bangladesh, climate finance is one of the major topics to be broached at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27). The Bangladesh delegation has said it will try to convince the developed countries to deliver on the $100 billion finance per annum that they had promised to provide to the countries hit by climate change earlier. Read more: COP27: Bangladesh prioritises realisation of green climate fund, Environment Minister tells UNB "After the Paris Climate Accord was signed in 2015, a rulebook or guideline was being formulated to implement the agreement all these years. The rulebook was approved at COP26 in Scotland's Glasgow last year," Bangladesh delegation member and Department of Environment Director Ziaul Haque told UNB. "At Glasgow, the developed countries promised to do what it takes to cut carbon emissions by 45 percent in 2030 compared to 2010 to limit future warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times. However, in the last one year, they were long on promises but woefully short on deliveries," Ziaul said. Low- and lower-middle-income nations need financial support to lower their susceptibility to climate shocks and vulnerabilities and adapt to the rapidly changing environment. At COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries committed to mobilising $100 billion every year by 2020 for the developing countries to help them undertake climate actions. The commitment was later extended to 2025 at COP21 in Paris. The Bangladesh delegation members said: "Unfortunately, that target has not yet been reached and largely missed." Read more: COP27: World leaders to discuss Earth’s biggest challenge, but observers don’t expect much The developed countries provided and mobilised $83.3 billion in overall climate finance in 2020, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Also, combining both the demand for mitigation and adaptation, the financing amount of $100 billion committed at that time, remains insufficient, to say the least, the Bangladesh delegation members said. So, how developed countries will meet the $100 billion target and how climate finance will be arranged post-2025 is crucial for least developed and developing countries, they added. "Against this backdrop, the COP27 presidency of Egypt envisions moving from negotiations and planning to implementation," Md Shamsuddoha, a climate expert observing the climate conference, said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday that the planet is heading toward irreversible “climate chaos” and urged global leaders at the upcoming climate summit in Egypt to put the world back on track to cut emissions, keep promises on climate financing and help developing countries speed their transition to renewable energy. The U.N. chief said the 27th annual Conference of the 198 Parties of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change — better known as COP27 — “must be the place to rebuild trust and re-establish the ambition needed to avoid driving our planet over the climate cliff.”   He said the most important outcome of COP27, which begins Nov. 6 in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, is to have “a clear political will to reduce emissions faster.”   That requires a historical pact between richer developed countries and emerging economies, Guterres said. “And if that pact doesn’t take place, we will be doomed.”   In the pact, the secretary-general said, wealthier countries must provide financial and technical assistance – along with support from multilateral development banks and technology companies – to help emerging economies speed their renewable energy transition. Guterres said that in the last few weeks, reports have painted “a clear and bleak picture” of global-warming greenhouse gas emissions still growing at record levels instead of going down 45% by 2030 as scientists say must happen. The landmark Paris agreement adopted in 2015 to address climate change called for global temperatures to rise a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial times, and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). Guterres said greenhouse gas emissions are now on course to rise by 10%, and temperatures are on course to rise by as much as 2.8 degrees Celsius under present policies by the end of the century. Read more: Climate Change: Int’l community must act with fund and solutions to help most vulnerable nations “And that means our planet is on course for reaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible and forever bake in catastrophic temperature rise,” the secretary-general warned. He said the 1.5 degree goal “is in intensive care” and “in high danger,” but it’s still possible to meet it. “And my objective in Egypt is to make sure that we gather enough political will to make this possibility really moving forward,” the U.N. chief said. “COP27 must be the place to close the ambition gap, the credibility gap and the solidarity gap,” Guterres said. “It must put us back on track to cutting emissions, boosting climate resilience and adaptation, keeping the promise on climate finance and addressing loss and damage from climate change.” Rich countries, especially the United States, have emitted far more than their share of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, data shows. Poor nations like Pakistan, where recent floods left a third of the country under water, have been hurt far more than their share of global carbon emissions. Loss and damage has been talked about for years, but richer nations have often balked at negotiating details about paying for past climate disasters, like Pakistan’s flooding this summer. “Loss and damage have been the always-postponed issue,” Guterres said. “There is no more time to postpone it. We must recognize loss and damage and we must create an institutional framework to deal with it.” Read more: UN, ADB to support Bangladesh's fight against climate change The secretary-general said Thursday that “getting concrete results on loss and damage is the litmus test of the commitment of the governments to close all of these gaps.” “COP27 must lay the foundations for much faster, bolder climate action now and in this crucial decade, when the global climate fight will be won or lost,” Guterres said.

Global leaders are preparing for the COP27 next month — to take action towards achieving collective climate goals set under Paris Agreement and the Convention. The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or ‘COP27’, will build on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency. These are: urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience and adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change, and delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries. Also read: Dhaka calls for implementation of climate financing pledges ahead of COP27 Bangladesh will reiterate its call to materialize the pledge of providing US$ 100 billion funds per year to developing countries at the earliest, officials said. Bangladesh will also highlight the importance of “enhanced funds” for climate change mitigation and adaptation at the conference that will take place from November 6 to 18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Nations are expected to demonstrate at COP27 that they are in a new era of implementation by turning their commitments under the Paris Agreement into action. Read V20, G7 reach agreement on financial protection against climate change loss Heads of states and governments will attend the Sharm el-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit on November 7 and 8 while a high-level segment primarily attended by ministers will take place from November 15-18. The Vulnerable 20 (V20) and Group of 7 (G7) will jointly launch the Global Shield Against Climate Risks at COP27 in a wider effort to accelerate pre-arranged financing at speed and scale. The V20 membership stands at 58 economies representing some 1.5 billion people including Bangladesh. Read Climate Change: IOM DDG calls for redoubling efforts ahead of COP27 The Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance Ministers from climate vulnerable economies and the G7 Presidency have already announced they have reached agreement on a financial protection cooperation that responds to loss and damage as a contribution to the Paris Climate Treaty. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has called for implementation of climate financing pledges commensurate with the principles of loss and damage ahead of the climate conference going to take place in Sharm El Sheikh next month. State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam has said Bangladesh firmly believes that climate change is a security issue and it must be discussed at a regular interval at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Read UN Resident Coordinator stresses urgency of fighting climate change Bangladesh has been a significant player in global climate diplomacy and during the presidency of CVF, Bangladesh emerged as a bold voice in the climate change negotiations under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh has launched the “Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan” with the aim to put her on a journey from climate vulnerability to resilience to climate prosperity. The government sees it as one of the landmark policy guidelines for climate vulnerable countries. As government representatives begin to finalize the agenda for the COP27 climate change conference in Egypt next month, the UN chief told journalists in New York that the work ahead is “as immense as the climate impacts we are seeing around the world”. “At COP27, I will launch an action plan to provide early warning systems for all within five years,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He urged the governments, international financial institutions and civil society to support it. Read Bangladeshi youths join Global Climate Strike “We came out of Paris, COP21, with a historic agreement which set out a framework of what needs to be done, and then in Glasgow last year, an agreement on how to do it,” said Simon Stiell, the sixth Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) or UN Climate Change. 2022 marks seven years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change - a landmark international treaty to tackle the climate crisis.  The agreement calls for limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. To get there, the world needs to halve its carbon emissions by 2030. Read What can COP27 do for climate vulnerable countries?

African officials outlined their priorities for the upcoming U.N. climate summit, including a push to make heavily polluting rich nations compensate poor countries for the environmental damage done to them. The continent will also focus on how countries can adapt to global warming and how the continent can best halt further climate-related disasters. Africa has seen debilitating droughts in the east and Horn of Africa and deadly cyclones in the south. Other key areas for discussion include moving from high-carbon energy sources like oil and gas to renewables, and “carbon credit” schemes, where foreign governments and companies pay for tree planting in exchange for producing greenhouse gases. The U.N. climate conference, known as COP27, will be held in Egypt in November. How much funding Africa gets is the biggest factor for how prepared it will be for a hotter future, said Harsen Nyambe, the director of sustainable environment at the African Union Commission. Read: Mideast nations wake up to damage from climate change “We recall the $100 billion that was promised has never been fulfilled and current assessments show that even that amount is not enough,” Nyambe said, referring to a 12-year-old pledge by rich nations to provide climate funding for poorer nations. “Africa must be given adequate time to transition and transform its energy infrastructure. We cannot transform abruptly. We need resources, capacity, technology transfer and finance to power our development,” he added. A commitment made in the previous international summit in Glasgow to spend half of climate funds on helping developing nations adapt to the effects of a warming world by having infrastructure and agriculture that's resilient to more volatile weather systems, must be followed through, said Jean-Paul Adam, director of climate change for the U.N.'s Economic Commission for Africa. He added the continent only received about 7.5% of its promised $70 billion in climate funding between 2014 and 2018. Africa needs around $3 trillion to fulfill its self-determined emissions targets, known as nationally determined contributions, that each country is required to submit as part of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate, according to U.N. and Africa Development Bank estimates. More meetings between the continent's climate leaders are set to follow ahead of COP27.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) in Bangladesh have said that recent CoP-26 climate summit failed to address the adaptation programmes and loss and damage issues of the most vulnerable countries like Bangladesh. The CSOs have asked the government to develop a country-owned long-term financial strategies to support climate change actions in future. Their demand came at a virtual seminar titled “CoP 26 outcome and our future perspective as MVCs” held on Monday. Also read: MVCs' CSOs demand end to carbon emission instead of 'net-zero' target The seminar was jointly organized by COAST foundation, An Organization for Socio-Economic Development (AOSED), BIPNET-CCBD (Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples’ Network on Climate Change), Centre for Participatory Research & Development (CPRD) Coastal Development Partnership (CDP), Coastal Livelihood and Environmental Action Network (CLEAN) and Equity and Justice Working Group, Bangladesh (EquityBD). Barrister Shamim Haider Patowary MP participated as special guest in the seminar moderated by Mostafa Kamal Akand of EquityBD. Among others Dr. Ainun Nishat-Emeritus Professor (BRAC University) and Lead climate negotiator of BD, Dr. Mostafa Saroar-Professor Khulna University of Engineering & Technology, Md. Sharif Jamil-General Secretary of BAPA (Bangladesh Paribesh Anolon), Quamrul Islam Chowdhury, climate change negotiator and Ex. Secretary of National Press Club, Mrinal Kanti Tripura of BIPNET-CCBD, Md. Jahangir Hossen Masum of CDP, Shamim Arefin of AoSED-Khulna, Emranul Hoque-climate change advocate, .Kawser Rahaman of Janakhanta spoke at the event. Syed Aminul Hoque from EquityBD presented the key note paper. Syed Aminul Hoque said that, the CoP 26 outcome was expected to produce a concrete decision and actions by world leaders to reduce global Green House gas emissions and appropriate financing to support adaptation actions and to face recurrent loss & damages. This did not happen due to opposition from some developed countries, especially the USA and their allies, he said. Also read: CSOs demand inclusive process from govt to Strengthen Country Interest at CoP 26 He also criticised the UK position for its so called “Net Zero Emission” target by 2050 which in fact support the big emitters to continue their GHGs emission. Barrister Shamim Haider said that the CoP26 outcome is somehow disappointed as the decisions aggregately has dismantled the Common but Differentiate Responsibilities principle of Paris Agreement, denied the loss & damage with displacement issues and moving towards a business model instead survival of MVCs and save the earth from global warming. He appreciated the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s voice as very realistic. He, however, pointed out less participation of BD govt. delegations in many CoP plenaries where main decisions came. Dr. Mostafa Saroar said that the proposed “Net Zero emission” target is a false and elusive solution and the UK pushed the poor and developing countries to adopt this target. Quamrul Islam Chowdhury criticised the developed countries initiative of “New collective and quantified goal on finance (NCQG)” where there are no representatives of MVCs to finalize the process Sharif Jamil said that government’s mind-set is confused as there are inconsistencies between govt. coal using and alternative energy strategies. Mr. Shamim said that in CoP 26, developed countries have failed to deliver on the annual payment of US$100 billion and instead deferred it to 2023. This is is completely unacceptable for MVCs, he said.

A crucial U.N. climate summit opened Sunday amid papal appeals for prayers and activists’ demands for action, kicking off two weeks of intense diplomatic negotiations by almost 200 countries aimed at slowing intensifying global warming and adapting to the climate damage already underway. As U.N. officials gaveled the climate summit to its formal opening in Glasgow, the heads of the world’s leading economies at the close of their own separate talks in Italy made pledges including stopping international financing of dirty-burning coal-fired power plants by next year. But much of the agreement was vague and not the major push some had been hoping for to give momentum to the climate summit. Government leaders face two choices in Glasgow, Patricia Espinosa, head of the U.N. climate office, declared at the summit’s opening: They can sharply cut greenhouse gas emissions and help communities and countries survive what is becoming a hotter, harsher world, Espinosa said. “Or we accept that humanity faces a bleak future on this planet.” “It is for these reasons and more that we must make progress here in Glasgow,” Espinosa said. “We must make it a success.” India Logan-Riley, an Indigenous climate activist from New Zealand, had a more blunt message for negotiators and world leaders at the summit’s opening ceremony. Read: G20 leaders to tackle energy prices, other economic woes “Get in line, or get out of the way,” Logan-Riley said. But G-20 leaders offered more vague pledges than commitments of firm action, saying they would seek carbon neutrality “by or around mid-century.” They also agreed to end public financing for coal-fired power generation abroad, but set no target for phasing out coal domestically — a clear nod to China and India The G-20 countries represent more than three-quarters of the world’s climate-damaging emissions and G-20 host Italy and Britain, which is hosting the Glasgow conference, had looked for more ambitious targets coming out of Rome. But major polluters including China and Russia had already made clear they had no immediate intention of following U.S. and European pledges to zero out all fossil-fuel pollution by 2050. Russia said on Sunday that it was sticking to its target of 2060. Speaking to reporters before leaving Rome, U.S. President Joe Biden called it “disappointing’ that G-20 members Russia and China ’basically didn’t show up” with commitments to address the scourge of climate change ahead of the U.N. climate summit. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck a grim tone, saying G-20 leaders “inched forward” on curbing global warming, but the goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) -- struck in a landmark deal at the end of the 2015 Paris climate accord -- was in danger of slipping out of reach. Read: No pathway to reach the Paris Agreement’s 1.5˚C goal without the G20: UN chief “If Glasgow fails then the whole thing fails,” Johnson told reporters in Rome. Before leaving Rome, U.S. Some observers said the G-20 pledges were far from enough. “This weak statement from the G-20 is what happens when developing countries who are bearing the full force of the climate crisis are shut out of the room,” said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa. “The world’s biggest economies comprehensively failed to put climate change on the top of the agenda ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.” While the opening ceremony in Glasgow formally kicked off the talks, known as COP26, the more anticipated launch comes Monday, when leaders from around the world will gather to lay out their countries’ efforts to curb emissions from burning coal, gas and oil and deal with the mounting damage from climate change. The leaders of two of the top climate-polluting nations - China and Russia — were not expected to attend the summit, though seniors officials from those countries planned to participate. Biden, whose country is the world’s biggest climate polluter after China, the summit comes at a time when division within his own Democratic party is forcing him to scale back ambitious climate efforts. At the Vatican Sunday, Pope Francis urged the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square: “Let us pray so that the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor” is heard by summit participants. Negotiators will push nations to ratchet up their efforts to keep global temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius this century compared with pre-industrial times. The climate summit remains “our last, best hope to keep 1.5 in reach,” said Alok Sharma, the British government minister chairing climate talks. Scientists say the chances of meeting that goal are slowly slipping away. The world has already warmed by more than 1.1C and current projections based on planned emissions cuts over the next decade are for it to hit 2.7C by the year 2100. The amount of energy unleashed by such planetary warming would melt much of the planet’s ice, raise global sea levels and greatly increase the likelihood and intensity of extreme weather, experts say. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry warned last week of the dramatic impacts that exceeding the 2015 Paris accord’s goal will have on nature and people, but expressed optimism that the world is heading in the right direction. Sharma noted that China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, had just raised its climate targets somewhat. “But of course we expected more,” Sharma told the BBC earlier Sunday. India, the world’s third biggest emitter, has yet to follow China, the U.S. and the European Union in setting a target for reaching ‘net zero’ emissions. Negotiators are hoping India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi will announce such a goal in Glasgow. Some of the issues being discussed during the talks have been on the agenda for decades, including how rich countries can help poor nations tackle emissions and adapt to a hotter world. The slow pace of action has angered many environmental campaigners, who are expected to stage loud and creative protests during the summit.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday laid emphasis on the strict implementation of the Paris Agreement, saying that it is the only way to check global emissions and thereby global warming. "The time to take action to save the planet is not tomorrow, but today," she said in her prerecorded video message in the Foreign Policy Virtual Climate Summit. The Prime Minister said that climate change is not boundary-specific. "If one country emits, every country is affected. So, every country would have to play its role," she said. She, however, said the rich countries, especially the G20 nations, should play the main role in halting the global emission. Sheikh Hasina also hailed the USA's return to the Paris Agreement and appreciated US President Joe Biden’s decision and also about holding the Leaders’ Summit last week. She stressed the importance of implementing the Paris Agreement wherein the international community pledged to form a USD 100-billion fund each year for the adaptation and mitigation purposes. Hasina said that in the Paris Climate Accord, member countries have agreed not to allow the global temperature to rise above 1.5 degrees Celsius. Also read: Leaders' Summit on Climate: Dhaka optimistic about $100 billion fund "But nothing substantial has so far been done to check the emission of greenhouse gases which are responsible for the temperature rise," she bemoaned. Sheikh Hasina said the global temperature is rising and there is no doubt about it. “And this temperature-rise is the main culprit of all ills. The continuous rise in global temperature is the most pressing concern for human kind.  "After the Covid-19, the most discussed subject of the time perhaps is climate change. Climate change has now become a huge threat to every country, especially the climate vulnerable countries like Bangladesh," she said. The Prime Minister said that the entire world is passing through a tough time due to the Covid-19 pandemic claiming a large number lives and infecting hundreds of thousands more every day. "We need united efforts to get rid of the deadly virus." Talking about the challenges of Bangladesh on the climate change issue, the Prime Minister said that countries like Bangladesh have been experiencing increased frequencies and ferocities of various natural calamities like flood, drought, tidal surge, nor’wester and lightning. "Currently, a heatwave is sweeping over my country." Last year, she said that Bangladesh experienced heavy monsoon that submerged one-third of Bangladesh. Several cyclones, including super cyclone Amphan, also hit the country last year. “All these phenomena are due to climate change.” Also read: Strict implementation of Paris deal only way forward for sustainable future: Dhaka "Bangladesh is not an emitter. In fact, no member country of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) is a significant emitter. But we’re the worst sufferers. Every year 2% of my country’s GDP is lost to extreme climate events." In this connection, she mentioned about the 1.1 million forcibly evicted Rohingyas from Myanmar that Bangladesh has given shelter in the environmentally critical Cox’s Bazar district heavily affected the ecology of the area. Hasina also said that the bottom 100 countries account for just 3.5% of the global emission whereas the G20 countries are responsible for 80%. The CVF countries are at the forefront of climate adaptation. She mentioned that Bangladesh is the first LDC to establish a Climate Change Trust Fund. So far, it spent over USD 415 million from its own resources to implement over 800 mitigation and adaptation programmes. “Our Parliament adopted a motion in 2019 declaring the current state of climate vulnerability as a planetary emergency.” Hasina went on saying, "We’re planting 30 million saplings and launched a programme called 'Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan', marking the birth centenary of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman." She said that Bangladesh is spending on average 2.5% of its GDP equivalent to US$ 5 billion each year on climate adaptation and resilience-building. Bangladesh has built 12,000 cyclone shelters and 200,000 hectares of coastal green belts. Also read: Hasina places 4 suggestions to deal with climate challenge The scientists of Bangladesh have invented salinity and flood-tolerant crops, rain reservoirs and pond-sand-filters, floating agriculture technology and mobile water treatment plants for the coastal people, she said. The Prime Minister said: "The provisions of water bodies and tree plantation are ensured while implementing any project. We’re creating artificial mangrove forests in the chars and shoals of coastal districts." The government is building cyclone-resistant houses for the poor in the cyclone-prone areas, she said, adding, “For preserving water and increasing navigability, we are dredging rivers and canals throughout the country.” She also mentioned that the Global Centre on Adaptation has set up its South Asian Regional Office in Dhaka. The centre is working to disseminate local-based innovative adaptation practices. Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Policy Ravi Agrawal moderated the event. The Prince of Wales Charles, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Foreign Minister of Japan Toshimitsu Motegi, President of COP26 Alok Sharma and Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth of United Kingdom Anne-Marie Trevelyan, MP, among others, spoke at the programme.

Over 1.1 million Bangladeshis have been talking about environmental conservation on Facebook in the past three months. The three most popular topics are sustainable food, sustainable living and wildlife conservation. In Bangladesh, interest in issues related to climate change mirrors global sentiment.More people are also joining communities to learn more about issues and taking action. There are now more than 2 million Bangladeshis who are part of at least one of the 6,000 Facebook groups dedicated to the discovery, protection and appreciation of our environment. Also read: Hasina places 4 suggestions to deal with climate challenge “I continue to be inspired by Bangladeshis rallying together across our platforms to take action on climate change,” said Jordi Fornies, Facebook’s Director of Emerging Markets at APAC. “At Facebook, we recognise the urgency of climate change and are committed to help tackle this crisis affecting communities around the globe. Our operations are now 100 percent supported by renewable energy, and we are one of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy globally.” Facebook is encouraging people across its platforms to take action and help protect the planet from climate crisis as it continues to impact communities around the world. According to a global survey conducted by Facebook in partnership with the Yale Program on Climate Communication, more than three-quarters of people from 30 countries believe in climate change, and 7 in 10 people were supportive of the Paris Climate Accord. Also read: Bangladesh, US to work together to address challenges of climate change To make it easier for people to take action against climate change, the social media platform is launching the Facebook Greenprint consumer guide, and a “Stand up for Earth” WhatsApp sticker pack that highlights some of the environmental challenges that we’re facing across the globe, and encourages actions like recycling, reducing electricity and saving water. There are also several wallpapers already in WhatsApp that show the beauty of the planet. The Facebook Greenprint is a digital guide that features 15 simple steps that people can take to protect the planet. These steps include joining a local Facebook Group or community to learn more about Bangladesh’s various environmental issues, attending a sustainable event in the area, donating to local wildlife organisations or shopping ethically on Instagram Shops. Also read: Climate Change: Biden's administration urged to take genuine leadership role Facebook will continue striving towards their climate change goals, and has committed to reaching net zero emissions for the value chain in 2030.

President Joe Biden convened leaders of the world’s most powerful countries on Thursday to try to spur global efforts against climate change, drawing commitments from Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to cooperate on cutting emissions despite their own sharp rivalries with the United States. “Meeting this moment is about more than preserving our planet,” Biden declared, speaking from a TV-style set for a virtual summit of 40 world leaders. “It’s about providing a better future for all of us,” he said, calling it “a moment of peril but a moment of opportunity.” “The signs are unmistakable. the science is undeniable. the cost of inaction keeps mounting,” he added. Biden’s own new commitment, timed to the summit, is to cut U.S. fossil fuel emissions up to 52% by 2030. marking a return by the U.S. to global climate efforts after four years of withdrawal under President Donald Trump. Biden’s administration is sketching out a vision of a prosperous, clean-energy United States where factories churn out cutting-edge batteries for export, line workers re-lay an efficient national electrical grid and crews cap abandoned oil and gas rigs and coal mines. Japan, a heavy user of coal, announced its own new 46% emissions reduction target Thursday as the U.S. and its allies sought to build momentum through the summit. South Korea used the summit to say it would stop all public financing of new coal-fired power plants, an important step that climate groups hope will help persuade China and Japan to slow their own building and funding of coal power. The coronavirus pandemic compelled the summit to play out as a climate telethon-style livestream, limiting opportunities for spontaneous interaction and negotiation. The opening was rife with small technological glitches, including echoes, random beeps and off-screen voices. But the U.S. summit also marshaled an impressive display of the world’s most powerful leaders speaking on the single cause of climate change. China’s Xi, whose country is the world’s biggest emissions culprit, followed by the United States, spoke first among the other global figures. He made no reference to nonclimate disputes that had made it uncertain until Wednesday that he would even take part in the U.S. summit, and said China would work with America in cutting emissions. Also read: EU reaches major climate deal ahead of Biden climate summit “To protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to boost the environment is to boost productivity. It’s as simple as that,” Xi said. Putin, whose government has been publicly irate over Biden’s characterization of him as a “killer” for Russia’s aggressive moves against its opponents, made no mention of his feuding with Biden in his own climate remarks, a live presentation that also saw moments of dead air among production problems. “Russia is genuinely interested in galvanizing international cooperation so as to look further for effective solutions to climate change as well as to all other vital challenges,” Putin said. Russia by some measures is the world’s fourth-biggest emitter of climate-damaging fossil fuel fumes. The pandemic made gathering world leaders for the climate summit too risky. That didn’t keep the White House from sparing no effort on production quality. The president’s staff built a small set in the East Room that looked like it was ripped from a daytime talk show. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the summit from separate lecterns before joining Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and White House climate envoy John Kerry at a horseshoe-shaped table set up around a giant potted plant to watch fellow leaders’ livestreamed speeches. The format meant a cavalcade of short speeches by world leaders, some scripted, some apparently more impromptu. “This is not bunny-hugging,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of the climate efforts. “This is about growth and jobs.” The Biden administration’s pledge would require by far the most ambitious U.S. climate effort ever, nearly doubling the reductions that the Obama administration had committed to in the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord. The new urgency comes as scientists say that climate change caused by coal plants, car engines and other fossil fuel use is already worsening droughts, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters and that humans are running out of time to stave off most catastrophic extremes of global warming. But administration officials, in previewing the new target, disclosed aspirations and vignettes rather than specific plans, budget lines or legislative proposals for getting there. Biden excused himself in the midst of the first session for other duties, but planned to join a second session of the livestreamed summit later in the morning on financing poorer countries’ efforts to remake and protect their economies against global warming. Also read: FM: Bangladesh’s points to be on agenda of Biden's Climate Summit With the pledge from the United States and other emissions-cutting announcements from Japan, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom, countries representing more than half the world’s economy will have now committed to cutting fossil fuel fumes enough to keep the earth’s climate from warming, disastrously, more than 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius), the administration said. As of 2019, the last year before the pandemic, the U.S. had reduced 13% of its greenhouse gases compared with 2005 levels, which is about half way to the Obama administration goals of 26 to 28%, said climate scientist Niklas Hohne of Climate Action Tracker. That’s owing largely to market forces that have made solar and wind, and natural gas, much cheaper Biden, a Democrat, campaigned partly on a pledge to confront climate change. He has sketched out some elements of his $2 trillion approach for transforming U.S. transportation systems and electrical grids in his campaign climate plan and in his infrastructure proposals for Congress. His administration insists the transformation will mean millions of well-paying jobs. Republicans say the effort will throw oil, gas and coal workers off the job. They call his infrastructure proposal too costly. “The summit is not necessarily about everyone else bringing something new to the table — it’s really about the U.S. bringing their target to the world,” said Joanna Lewis, an expert in China energy and environment at Georgetown University. Political divisions in America that were exposed by Trump’s presidency have left the nation weaker than it was at the 2015 Paris accord. Unable to guarantee that a different president in 2024 won’t undo Biden’s climate work, the Biden administration has argued that market forces — with a boost to get started — will soon make cleaner fuels and energy efficiency too cheap and consumer-friendly to trash. Having the United States, with its influence and status, back in the climate game is important, said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki. But hoping the world will forget about the last four years seems like wishful thinking, he said. “There is too much of an impulse in the U.S. to just wish away Trump’s legacy and the fact that every election is now basically a coin toss between complete climate denial and whatever actions the Democrats can bring to the table,” he said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday put forward four suggestions to global leaders to fight climate change challenges with a strong collective response. The Prime Minister made the suggestions in her prerecorded video statement screened in the opening session of the two-day ‘Leaders’ Summit on Climate’ hosted by US President Joe Biden. Joe Biden invited 40 world leaders, including Sheikh Hasina, to join the virtual Summit to galvanise efforts by major economies to tackle the climate crisis. Sheikh Hasina’s suggestions include announcing an immediate and ambitious action plan by developed countries to reduce their carbon emissions to keep the global temperature at 1.5 degrees Celsius with focus on mitigation measures; and ensuring the annual target of 100 billion US dollars which should be balanced 50:50 between adaptation and mitigation with a special attention to the vulnerable countries while pursuing losses and damages. The other two suggestions are: Major economies, international financial institutions and private sectors should come forward with plans for concessional climate financing as well as innovation; and focusing on green economy and carbon neutral technologies with a provision of technology transfer among nations. “The Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us that any global crisis can only be addressed through a strong collective response,” she said. Also read: FM: Bangladesh’s points to be on agenda of Biden's Climate Summit Hasina thanked US President Biden for convening the Summit and inviting her to speak at this gathering saying that Bangladesh deeply appreciates the United States’ return to the Paris Climate Agreement and its keen to engage with the international community. “Despite being a climate vulnerable country with resource constraints, Bangladesh has emerged as a global leader on adaptation and mitigation,” she said.