Ensure $100 billion annual fund: PM at Leaders Summit on Climate
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for ensuring the annual target of 100 billion US dollars which should be balanced 50:50 between adaptation and mitigation with special attention to the vulnerable communities.
"Major economies, international financial institutions and private sectors should come forward for concessional climate financing as well as innovation," she said virtually today at the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted by US President Joe Biden.
Hasina also suggested pursuing "Loss and Damage", a process that refers to the harms caused by anthropogenic climate change within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Forty world leaders including major emitting countries US, China, Russia, India, Japan, UK, Canada, as well as leaders from the climate vulnerable countries and those that demonstrated innovations and leadership in tackling climate change also attended the two-day summit.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, president of Climate Vulnerable Forum -- a group of 48 climate vulnerable countries -- said, "The Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us that global crisis can only be addressed through strong collective response."
As a responsible member state of the COP and as the Chair of CVF, she suggested an immediate and ambitious action plan by developed countries to reduce their carbon emissions to keep the global temperature rise at 1.5 degree Celsius.
"The developing nations should also focus on mitigation measures," she said in the virtual summit.
"Focus is needed on green economy and carbon neutral technologies with provision of technology transfer among nations," PM Hasina said.
She thanked President Biden for convening the Summit and inviting her to speak to the august gathering and deeply appreciated the US' return to the Paris Climate Agreement.
"Despite being a climate vulnerable country with resource constraints, Bangladesh has emerged as a global leader on adaptation and mitigation. Every year we are spending about 5 billion dollars, about 2.5 percent of our GDP, on climate adaptation and resilience-building measures," she said.
However, she said the 1.1 million forcefully displaced Rohingyas from Myanmar who took shelter in Bangladesh following the 2017 military crackdown in Rakhine have worsened Bangladesh's vulnerability.
PM Hasina said Bangladesh is pursuing a low carbon development path and to raise the country's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and adaptation ambition, Bangladesh has included new sectors in addition to the existing energy, industry and transport sectors in the mitigation process.
She said the Bangladesh government is planning to submit a quantified ambitious NDC by June 2021.
She said Bangladesh is observing 'Mujib Year', marking the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and is planting 30 million saplings nationwide and adopted "Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan" to achieve low carbon economic growth.
As the Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and V20, Bangladesh's key focus is to uphold the interests of the climate vulnerable countries.
She also said Bangladesh is hosting the South Asian regional office of the Global Centre on Adaptation which is promoting locally-led adaptation solutions.
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