(This article was originally published here)
Polluters must stop delaying the settlement of carbon emission cut and climate finance disbursement for vulnerable nations in the name of negotiation, a discussion was told yesterday.
“The negotiations between the polluters – mostly industrialised countries – and the vulnerable countries has been happening for years. Yet, there are no specific road map that will ensure that the polluters will reduce their carbon emission in a binding time period,” said Dr Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies.
In addition, most of the developed nations have yet to disburse their verbally committed money to the Green Climate Fund which is considered a major funding mechanism for reducing the climate change impacts, he said.
The speakers emphasised that a legally-binding agreement must be formulated in this regard at the UN conference on climate change, set to take place in Paris later this year.
The discussion, named Climate Risk and Popular Perceptions, was organised by the French Embassy in Bangladesh at the ambassador’s residence.
Pierre Mayaudon, head of European Union delegation to Bangladesh, said Bangladesh has been suffering in three areas – people’s suffering, destruction of nature and problems in economic progress – due to the negative impacts of climate change.
According to the Fifth Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Bangladesh is at specific risk of climate change effects due to its exposure to sea-level rise and extreme events such as salinity intrusion, drought, erratic rainfall and tidal surge, which will hamper the country’s food and livelihood security.
Phillippe Zeller, French ambassador at large for climate negotiations for Asia and Oceania, said the COP 21 is crucial as it would make a legally binding agreement among the countries regarding emission cut and concrete fund pledges.
The developed nations have to come to a conclusion to disburse their committed money in the Green Climate Fund in this year’s conference, otherwise the Green Climate Fund will not be effective as a funding solution, he said.
The discussion was also attended by Sophie Aubert, France ambassador to Bangladesh, and climate expert Dr Saleemul Huq among others.
Written by: Abu Bakar Siddique
