Climate change measures vital for poverty cutting efforts
Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday said Bangladesh's effort to reduce poverty might suffer a setback if immediate and effective actions are not taken to combat climate change.
"While we remain on track to attain most of the MDG goals, climate change has the potential to wreak havoc on our efforts," he said in a video message to the UK-Bangladesh Climate Change Conference in London yesterday.
Expressing disappointments over the current level of funding from multilateral and bilateral sources for adaptation to climate change and mitigation of its impact, he said, "We must immediately mount a large-scale campaign to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change."
The chief adviser said the UK-Bangladesh conference demonstrated that "we as a world are more united than before in addressing the threats of climate change. We simply cannot remain idle until the worst effects are already upon us."
Fakhruddin said climate change is a global issue that demands a global response. It is an issue of fundamental human morality that those who have contributed the least to this problem, cannot be allowed to suffer the most, he said.
The chief adviser said Bangladesh is taking all necessary steps to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change on the economy and on the livelihood of the people.
He said despite severe resource constraints, the government has set up a dedicated Climate Change Fund with an initial endowment fund of $45 million.
He appealed to Bangladesh's development partners to channel additional funds into the proposed Multi-Donor Trust Fund to help implement the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.
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