Dhaka hopes COP-16 will deliver green fund

Annual global climate conference under UNFCCC in Cancun, Mexico may not yield any major breakthrough on reaching deal for reducing carbon emission, but most likely to achieve success to create ‘green fund’ to support the developing countries for adaptation.

Members of Bangladesh delegation taking part in the negotiation meeting said this at a press briefing at the National Press Club in Dhaka Saturday ahead of their departure for the conference slated for November 29 to December 10.
The Copenhagen climate conference agreed to create the ‘green fund’ under which the developed countries pledged to deliver $30 billion to the developing countries for the period of 2010-2012 for adaptation and mobilise $100 billion by 2020 to combat climate change.
Senior member of the negotiating team Qazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmed said Bangladesh along with other developing countries would try its best to establish its position and persuade developed nations to take pragmatic measures to reduce their carbon emission in the 16th Conference of Parties (COP 16).
The secretary of the ministry of environment and forests, Mihir Kanti Majumder, said, ‘Our main focus will be persuading the large emitters to come to an agreement for mitigation to reduce global warming as mitigation is the best way for adaptation.’
Chairman of Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad Mohammad Farash Uddin, members of the Bangladesh delegation Ansarul Karim and Asaduzzaman were present.
The state minister for environment and forests, Hasan Mahmud, will be present at the ministerial level meeting of the conference, QK Ahmed, also the chief of the Working Group on global climate negotiation, said.
He said the secretary of the MOEF would lead the negotiation team comprising representatives from the government and non-government organisation, and researchers, civil society members and media.
Recognising the importance of the climate conference, he said parliament members from all political parties, academics, civil society member and journalists from major media houses had been included in the Bangladesh delegation.
‘Climate negotiation is an important diplomacy which can be successful through massive media campaign,’ Farash Uddin, former Bangladesh Bank governor, said hoping that COP-16 would certainly be able to make a way for a global deal by a couple of years to contain global warming.
Highlighting Bangladesh’s position in the COP-16, QK Ahmed said, ‘We want enhanced action for adaptation and mitigation, and quick release of the fund as agreed in the Copenhagen climate summit last year.’
‘Developed countries must reduce their emission up to 45 per cent by 2020 from 1990 level and up to 90 per cent by 2050 to keep global warming below 1.5 degree than the pre-industrial level,’ he said.
Khaliq said Bangladesh wanted financial support from developed countries up to 1.5 per cent of their gross national product to fight adverse impacts of climate change in the form of grant.
He acknowledged some differences of least developing countries with major economies of G77+China group and said, ‘We are making efforts to consolidate the strength of LDCs as separate group called as most vulnerable countries is not possible under the existing UN system.’
‘But, we want implementation of the Copenhagen Accord which agreed for giving preferential treatment to the needs of most vulnerable countries to adapt to climate change and technology transfer,’ he said.
The secretary of the MoEF mentioned the steps taken by the government to address climate change issues. He said the government plan for building a 7,000- kilometer-long coastal defence embankment and ten-year Bangladesh Climate Change Strategic and Action Plan has already earned global acclamation.
Formation of Climate Change Trust Fund and Climate Change Resilience Fund, Bangladesh Biodiversity Plan and innovation of saline and drought-tolerant crops are included among the salient measures of Bangladesh to adapt to climate change, he said.
-New Age