Climate change bodies set up for action plan

The government yesterday formed two separate high-powered committees to prepare climate change strategies and deal with the fund so that people get the maximum benefits of around Tk 300 crore allocated in the budget.

Two committees--strategy and action plan committee and fund operation committee --were formed at the regular cabinet meeting held at the cabinet division with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

Approving the climate change policy, the prime minister asked the action plan committee headed by Planning Minister AK Khandaker to prepare strategies for combating climate change as early as possible.

The committee members include ministers for agriculture, and food and disaster management. The secretaries of those ministries will assist the committee.

Prime minister's economic affair adviser will head the other committee, the fund operation committee.

The committee members are civil aviation and tourism minister, state ministers for environment, foreign affairs, and housing and public works. The secretaries of those ministries will assist the committee.

"The cabinet okayed the climate change policy in principle," prime minister's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters at the press information department's conference room.

"At the meeting the prime minister asked all to put in their best efforts to utilize Tk 300 crore climate change fund so that people can get maximum benefits from the fund," Azad said.

Bangladesh is one of those countries that are highly vulnerable to the climate change. Floods, tropical cyclones, storm surges and droughts in Bangladesh are likely to become more frequent and severe in the coming years.

At the meeting Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury stressed the need for immediate steps for dredging rivers and removing water logging to reduce the effect of the climate change.

"We will prepare strategies on climate change soon. As per our electoral pledges, the prime minister endorsed the proposal for river dredging to mitigate the impact of climate change, " Matia told The Daily Star at her office after the meeting.

She said the prime minister assured her of taking prompt initiatives in this regard.

The government, earlier, set up a secretariat on climate change under the environment and forest ministry to monitor the activities for combating climate change and deal with the climate change fund.