Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will attend the two-day World Leaders Summit at COP31, the UN climate conference in Turkey. Bangladesh will call there for climate finance as grants rather than loans and for the main carbon-emitting countries to be held to account. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam told reporters at the foreign ministry on Monday (2 November).
The 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) runs from 9 to 20 November at the Antalya Expo Centre in Turkey. The high-level World Leaders Climate Action Summit takes place on 11 and 12 November. Turkey hosts and presides over the conference, while Australia will chair the negotiations. "The prime minister will make a very short visit this time," the state minister said.
Shama Obaed said Bangladesh will present its achievements in climate resilience and adaptation while pressing developed countries to meet their obligations to vulnerable nations. Countries that contribute little to global greenhouse gas emissions should not be loaded with extra debt to deal with the consequences, Bangladesh argues. "Bangladesh's role in carbon emissions is close to zero, yet in the end we are the ones who suffer the consequences," she said.
She said the prime minister will present environmental and climate measures the government has taken over the past six months, including canal excavation, a large tree-planting programme and wider use of solar power and other renewable energy. Bangladesh will also show how its people are adapting to climate change and building resilience in the context of South Asia and the wider region. Details of the programme and delegation will be given at a press conference before the prime minister leaves, she said.
The conference is expected to focus on speeding up the Paris Agreement, strengthening adaptation, increasing finance for vulnerable countries and advancing the global shift to clean energy. As one of the countries most exposed to climate change, Bangladesh has long called for international climate finance that is easy to obtain and predictable, especially for adaptation, disaster preparedness and loss and damage.
The report is by Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).
Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Source: BSS
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