Climate change, liberty and national sovereignty

I want to thank The Daily Star for its important editorial titled "Climate change will hurt Bangladesh" which was published on September 28.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly recently, US President Donald Trump made no mention of climate change, while emphasising individual liberty and national sovereignty.

The principle of equal liberty calls on us to maximise our own freedom without interfering with the freedom of others. Human-induced climate change is causing sea-level rise by warming the oceans and melting land ice. Consider the millions of Bangladeshis who are farming on land that is within a meter of high tide. Their freedoms should be meaningful as well.

And how might President Trump's view on climate change be different if he was the head of a small island nation, whose survival is threatened by climate change, even though it has contributed very little to global carbon dioxide emissions? What about the sovereignty of Fiji and the Marshall Islands?

Although liberty is a fundamental right, the flip side of every right is a responsibility. Indian scientist and activist Vandana Shiva points out that the "separation of rights and responsibilities is the beginning of any destructive enterprise."

America has a unique ability to lead and influence our world, and the United States should embrace this role with respect to climate action.