Fulfill promises on climate finance, mitigation measures: PM

Dhaka, Dec 12 – Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged all the developed countries to come forward with predictable and promised mitigation measures along with climate finance to combat global warming.

“…urging all the developed countries to come forward with predictable and promised mitigation measures along with climate finance,” she said on Saturday.
The Prime Minister made the plea in her pre-recorded video message at a summit, held online marking the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired the Summit.
The Climate Ambition Summit came as the United Nations warns that the current commitments to tackle rises in global temperatures are inadequate.
Sheikh Hasina said the fifth anniversary of the historic Paris Agreement is being observed at a time when mankind is unfortunately nowhere near to its goals set under the agreement.
“The reality is the climate change is neither going to take a break nor it’ll spare us from its adverse impact for our inaction,” she said.
The Paris Agreement is a legally-binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on December 12, 2015 and came into force on November 4, 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
To achieve this long-term as per the agreement, countries aim to reach the global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century.
The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all the nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has emerged as a global leader on adaptation measures despite many constraints. “In this regard, I would like to remind everyone that there is a limit to adaptation,” she said.
Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh, as the President of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, launched the CVF “Midnight Survival Deadline for the Climate” initiative urging every country to declare enhanced nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by midnight on 31st December 2020.
In Bangladesh, she said, “We’re planting 11.5 million saplings nationwide marking the birth centenary of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and also launched a programme called “Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan” to mobilise resources for a secured sustainable future.”
“To substantially raise our NDC and adaptation ambition, we’ve further included a few more potential sectors in addition to the existing energy, industry and transport sectors in the mitigation process. We’re also finalising our National Adaptation Plan.”
The Prime Minister also said that Bangladesh is spending USD 2 billion every year for climate change sensitive projects and 3 billion US dollars for adaptation measures.
According to the Paris Agreement, its implementation requires economic and social transformation, based on the best available science.
The Paris Agreement works on a 5-year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate action carried out by countries. By 2020, countries submit their plans for climate action known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
In their NDCs, countries communicate actions they will take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Countries also communicate in the NDCs actions they will take to build resilience to adapt to the impacts of rising temperatures.
To better frame the efforts towards the long-term goal, the Paris Agreement invites countries to formulate and submit by 2020 long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS).
LT-LEDS provides the long-term horizon to the NDCs. Unlike NDCs, they are not mandatory. Nevertheless, they place the NDCs into the context of countries’ long-term planning and development priorities, providing a vision and direction for future development.
The Paris deal provides a framework for financial, technical and capacity building support to those countries who need it. – UNB