An assistance of $ 4,000 crore will be needed over the next 15 years to address the challenges of climate change faced by the people living in Bangladesh’s coastal areas.
The Bangladesh delegation to the ongoing COP 21 in Paris came up with the demand while attending a seminar, organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) at Le Bourget conference centre in Paris on Thursday.Speaking at the seminar, Environment Secretary Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed also elaborated the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) of Bangladesh before the delegations of other countries.
On one hand, Bangladesh is working on building the capacity to face the challenges of climate change, while implementing its development plan with a target to reduce carbon emission on the other, he noted.
Bangladesh has invested about $1,000 crore over the last three decades to tackle the climate change phenomenon, he said adding that the list of various interventions include construction of embankments and repair of the older ones, building cyclone shelters, excavating and re-excavating canals, setting up sluice gates, innovating submergence and draught tolerant crops, forestation and promoting solar energy.
Though Bangladesh has a very meager share in the global green house gas emissions – which is about 0.35 percent – the country is suffering a loss of about 2 percent of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) due to the green house gas emissions, he added
Noting that power, transportation and industrial sectors are the major sources of green house gas emissions in the country, the Environment Secretary said the emissions from these three sources is expected to increase by 118 percent by 2030.
Bangladesh has pledged to reduce the green house gas emissions from the three sources by 5 percent by that timeline, though the country can take up the challenge to reduce emissions further 15 percent if financial, technological and skills development assistances are available, he said.
Kamal Uddin Ahmed reiterated the country’s commitment to work for containing the temperature rise by 1.5 to 2 degrees till 2050.
The UN climate conference, known as COP21, began in Paris on November 30 last.- Agencies
