Poor countries to be worst sufferers of climate change: Experts
The poor countries and their poor people will be the worst sufferers of the climate change, experts said at a two-day media workshop on Saturday.
Quoting a recently published report they said there will be serious impact on rice, wheat and potato production, but maize production will be good due to the extreme natural events.
Participating in the workshop IUCN Country Representative Dr Ainun Nishat said there is a possibility of increasing temperature of earth by 0.2 percent in next two decades and sea level rise in from 0.19 metre to 0.59 metre by 2090 to 2099 due to climate change.
He said sea level rise increased by 8cm from 1990 and it will reach 10 percent by 2015. If the present trend of glacial melting continues, the Everest will turn black, Ainun Nishat said.
The extent of tropical cyclone has increased and the salinity in water has raised to a great extent, he said adding that the carbon dioxide is responsible for increased green house gas emission.
Ainun Nishat said there will be unusual increase in rainfall, drought, floods, cyclones, river and coastal erosion by the next 15 years.
"The situation is so critical that if all of the world stop breathing to reduce carbon dioxide, even then it will take 40 years to make a pollution-free world. The climate has changed clearly occurring heavy rainfall in unusual times," he said.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) arranged the workshop on 'The climate change and the millennium development goals' at a local hotel.
Noted economist Dr Atiur Rahman, UNDP Assistant Country Director KAM Morshed, Assistant Country Director (environment) Dr Aminul Islam, UNDP Publicity Adviser Anir Chowdhury and its Programme Manager Kalyan Pandey spoke at the workshop.
The country's food security will be the most affected area by climate change, Ainun Nishat said and called for formulating a long-term action plan for Bangladesh to face the challenges of climate change.
"The country should explore new fund, its own resources and foreign aid to formulate the action plan which will have to be friendly both to environment and the industrialisation for sustainable development, he said.
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