Dhaka – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh organized a day-long seminar titled “Bangladesh and EU Dialogue on Climate Change: Global Perspective, Policies and Actions” in Dhaka on Tuesday.Shahidul Haque, Foreign Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs attended as the Chief Guest, while Istiaque Ahmad, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests was the Guest of Honour.
Ms Rensje Teerink, EU Ambassador, The Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed, Chairman, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and Mr. Istiaque Ahmad, Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests addressed the audience at the opening session.
The seminar focused on Global Policies on climate change, Climate Displacement: Government of Bangladesh’s policies and initiatives and the EU and Member States’ Cooperation with Bangladesh in the area of climate change.
Presentations were made on EU climate change policy and policy priorities for CoP 23 (UN climate change negotiations, to be held in Germany from 6 to 17 November); Bangladesh climate change priorities for CoP 23; international and Bangladeshi initiatives and policies on climate displacement; European Union and its Member States’ support for climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and mitigation actions in Bangladesh; Renewables and Energy efficiency in Bangladesh.
The EU ambassador said that the the dialogue being held at a crucial time just two weeks before this year’s UN climate change conference ‘COP23’, 6-17 November in Bonn to be presided over by the Government of Fiji. ‘At COP23, we expect significant progress towards completing the [COP21] Paris Work Programme, so that it could be adopted by all Parties to the Paris Agreement next year.’
The said the Paris Agreement offered governments a unique opportunity to show their ability to come together to respond to a decisive global challenge. The Paris Agreement was a test for effective multilateralism. Its implementation, now, will be a test on our ability to lead, act, and deliver globally. ‘We have seen the spirit of Paris keeping up the good momentum for a strong agreement. The international community, including non-state actors, remains unwavering in its commitment to the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, as demonstrated by the Hamburg G20 Summit in July 2017.’
The EU and Bangladesh have a strong and long-standing relationship on climate change. Our respective authorities were among the first to submit their national targets, well ahead of the Paris Climate Conference in 2015. The progressive nations who did so greatly contributed to the goodwill and mutual trust that made the success of the Paris Agreement possible.
‘The EU has long shown leadership on climate change, and our post-2020 commitments are no different. We have said we will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. This target will be achieved by domestic action – reducing emissions within the European Union’ she added. – EU press release
