'Bangladesh should create pressure to achieve targets’

Bangladesh needs to create pressure for achieving targets for the mitigation of negative effects of global emissions, environmentalist Dr Ainun Nishat said yesterday.
A well-known water expert and country representative of IUCN, the world conservation society, Dr Nishat told BSS that Bangladesh should utilise precious time, as not much of it was left, to prepare itself for the conferences due to take place, in quick succession, on climate change issues.
In the post Bali scenario, he said, Bangladesh, instead of neglecting, must complete its homework in time to be able to create pressure for achieving the targets for the mitigation of effects of global emissions.
Now that the scientists came up, in the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), with scientific evidence of harmful impact of greenhouse gasses, he said, it was for countries like Bangladesh, it's likely worst sufferers, to prepare for the climate change conferences.
There was no doubt any more, he said, on the need to address the issues of climate change requiring "deep cuts" in global emissions.
He suggested for setting up a national taskforce comprising, among others, the experts, so that Bangladesh was not caught unprepared in the coming conferences ultimately leading to adoption of another convention in 2012 to replace the Kyoto Protocol, to address the dangers posed by changing climate.
The national taskforce, he said, ought to formulate Bangladesh's position paper for the Ad hoc Working Group meeting due in February.
Bangladesh, he said, needs to develop its methodology for vulnerability assessment, articulate its position on each of the issues of Bali Action Plan including risk management, disaster reduction and economic diversification to build resilience.
Simultaneously, he said, the country needs to call for accelerated technology transfer from developed countries, supportive of action on mitigation and adaptation and financing of projects to offset negative impacts.
Bangladesh, he said, needs to develop a clear understanding on issues relating to bio-fuel.
Bangladesh should, he said, support the demand for accelerated technology transfer and additional resources for financing adaptation projects. Bangladesh, he said, to be able achieve its objectives needs to work closely with the LDCs group, G-77 plus China and the Asian group. Bangladesh, he said, needs to push its agenda on cutting global emissions, and technology transfer, formulate its projects and be ready with its position paper, take all preparation for adaptation.