Dhaka to press for donors' fund commitment

The government will press for an urgent commitment from the donors to fund projects on climate change mitigation and adaptation at the next month's high-level meeting between Bangladesh and United Kingdom (UK) in Dhaka and the climate change meet in London.
Government high-ups, representatives of NGOs, and climate change experts held a meeting yesterday to review and propose additions to the draft agenda for the second half of the high-level Bangladesh-UK meeting on “Climate Change: Bangladesh Facing the Challenge.”
The first half of the meeting was held in Dhaka last month.
Environment Secretary Rezaul Kabir presented Bangladesh's draft agenda, where he said the government aims to address the issues regarding climate change in Bangladesh.
This will include an overview of the observed changes in Bangladesh due to climate change, future projections, climate-induced natural disasters, and the condition of the victims.
A number of experts suggested that the government representatives at the meeting must describe the contribution of the developed countries to climate change and their obligation to finance the projects on adaptation to climate change in the affected developing countries.
The adaptation responses include sensitisation, disaster preparedness and community-based adaptation while strategies for mitigating climate change comprise energy efficiency measures and exploring different climate change-resilient forestation options.
The government will also seek to “secure investment funds to make Bangladesh climate resilient.”
However, several experts disagreed on using the term 'investment', saying it is the obligation of the developed donor countries to compensate developing countries like Bangladesh for the damage done due to industrialisation in the West.
Kabir also said Bangladesh's priorities at the London meeting would be food, water, health, and energy security. Some experts suggested that ecological security should also be included.
ERD Joint Secretary Mohammad Mezbahuddin made a separate presentation on Dhaka's agenda at the meeting held at the NEC auditorium, saying that Bangladesh would ask for commitments of the donors for a multi-donor trust fund.
He said the government and the donors would have to assess the nature and sources of the funds and how those would be managed.
Fund mobilisation and its management would also be important, he added.