The Prime Minister of Bangladesh urged the world leaders to share the responsibility of climate migrants
Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, has stated that the world needs to share the responsibility of climate migrants. She made the call in a speech at the Scottish Parliament in Glasgow titled “Call for Climate Prosperity” on November 3, 2021.
The prime minister delivered a keynote address titled ‘A Bangladesh Vision for Global Climate Prosperity’ in the Committee Room of the Scottish Parliament.
Sheikh Rehana, the youngest daughter of Bangabondu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Saima Wazed Hossain, envoy of Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) envoy, was present on occasion.
After arriving at the Scottish Parliament, Speaker Alison Johnstone welcomed the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
The prime minister said, “The world must share the responsibility of climate migrants displaced by natural disasters such as rising sea levels, river erosion, salinity, floods, and droughts. The issue of loss must resolve properly.”
“There are already 6 million people displaced by climate change in Bangladesh. In addition, an additional 1.1 million Rohingyas who migrated from Myanmar to Bangladesh become a burden in the country. Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has created additional challenges on top of it. “the PM continues.
Mentioning that an effective and adequate climate finance mechanism is the key to achieving prosperity, she proposes implementing the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) successfully.
Sheikh Hasina, also the chairperson of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and Vulnerable 20 (V20), put forward the proposal saying, “Major carbon-emitting countries must submit and implement an aggressive NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions).
Without ambitious impact mitigation efforts, adaptation measures alone are not enough to slow, stop, and reverse the adverse effects of climate change.”
Notably, Bangladesh ranks 152nd out of 188 countries in terms of global GHG (Greenhouse gas) emissions, 7th in terms of the Global Climate Risk Index, 33rd in terms of vulnerability, and 25th in terms of preparedness, indicating that, while highly vulnerable, it is not prepared to prevent or mitigate the effects of climate change.
In another proposal, the Prime Minister said, “Developed countries must fulfill their pledge to provide 100 billion dollars per year to developing countries to tackle climate change with a particular focus on climate-vulnerable countries.
“This amount of funding would be in addition to the existing ODA (Official development assistance), and there would be coordination between different climate financing. There should be a 50:50 ratio between the distribution of climate finance in terms of adaptation and mitigation,” she further added.
In her last proposal, the Prime Minister suggested expanding green technology from developed countries to developing countries at affordable prices to implement the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan.
Sheikh Hasina said, “World leaders have gathered in Glasgow to express their determination and high aspirations on the climate program in a combination of their global collective efforts to address the unprecedented challenges and risks of the adverse effects of climate change. No country is free from the impact of climate change.
She referred to the recently released IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) sixth assessment report as another wake-up call for the world to take decisive action to save the world from the effects of global warming and climate disasters.
