Bangladesh, UK call on developed nations to cut GHG emissions

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LONDON, Sept 10 (UNB) Bangladesh and the United Kingdom Wednesday announced a joint partnership calling for an ambitious international deal on cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as London made a fresh pledge of 75 million pounds sterling to Dhaka for combating catastrophic impacts of climate change on livelihood and food security.brThe money will go on measures such as protecting houses, schools and farms against flooding, and introducing new crop strains in Bangladesh, trebly hit last year by devastating floods and cyclone. brAid agencies have welcomed the move but say poorer countries will need much more money to adapt to climate change, escalated by excessive carbon emissions from the developed countries. brAt a summit here Wednesday on Climate Change in Bangladesh, the two countries called on nations gathering to thrash out a new global warming agreement in Copenhagen next year to achieve a comprehensive deal on prevention of dangerous climate change. brUK's International Development Secretary (minister) Douglas Alexander today said the lives of millions of people in Bangladesh would be devastated if urgent action is not taken to tackle climate change and cut down the emissions.brBangladesh Finance Adviser Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam outlined deep concerns for Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the phenomenal climate change of the time.brSpeakers at the cutting-edge London meet include Raja Devashish Roy, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor, and former chief economic adviser to the UK Government and leading climate-change analyst Lord Nicholas Stern.brAccording to the Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change more than a fifth of Bangladesh could be under water by the end of the century, if sea levels rise by a meter.brRepresentatives from other South Asian countries, including Nepal and the Maldives, donor countries, the private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in Bangladesh attended the event.brBritain has established an £800m Environmental Transformation Fund - International Window to help reduce poverty through environmental protection and to help developing countries respond to climate change. This will be used to capitalise the multi-donor Climate Investment Funds, administered by the World Bank. brThe UN has established two funds - the Least Developed Countries and Special Climate Change funds - to raise money to help countries such as Bangladesh to adapt, but the amounts of money pledged have been small. brThe new UK money, by contrast, will be managed by a multi-donor trust fund in Bangladesh and used to support government initiatives. brSome of it will explore ways in which Bangladesh could make use of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a Kyoto Protocol designed to use money from the international carbon market to aid low-carbon development in poorer nations. brThe UK and Bangladesh showed their long-term commitment to tackling climate change by signing a joint communiqué outlining the urgent need for a strengthened international deal in Copenhagen in 2009.brThe UK's International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander announced a financial package of £75m to help the Bangladesh government fund its response to climate change. brHe said Climate change is today's crisis, not tomorrow's risk, and is already affecting millions of people in Bangladesh. But Bangladesh is resilient and is setting an example to other vulnerable countries with its innovative approach to adapting to the changing climate.brI am pleased to announce today the launch of a new £75m grant-funded programme to support Bangladesh's efforts to protect its people further from impacts such as rising sea levels, water-logged land and increased salinity. brHe said, Adaptation on-the-ground is not enough. We believe more must be done at a global level. This is why today the UK and Bangladesh are announcing a new partnership calling for a comprehensive deal in Copenhagen, leading to the stabilisation of greenhouse gases at a level that avoids dangerous climate change - and benefits some of the world's poorest people.brFinance Advisor of the caretaker government Dr Aziz outlined a comprehensive strategy to make the country climate-resilient for the next decade. The strategy, called Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, focuses on practical adaptation and mitigation measures which can be put in place. He also announced a new trust fund, which will be used to implement the action plan. brThe Finance Advisor said the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including Bangladesh, need immediate international support to build their resilience to global warming and climate change.brHe told his audience that the resources currently available for adaptation are grossly inadequate to meet the needs of the LDCs who bear the brunt of increased climate variability and unpredictability resulting from climate change.brThe effects of climate change will severely constrain our ability to attain the high rates of economic growth needed to sustain development gains. We want a new sense of urgency to support Bangladesh in our search for a better tomorrow, the advisor told the high-level climate conference.brHe said, This is why today we are presenting our Climate Change Action Plan and calling upon the international community to assist Bangladesh by providing predictable, long-term financing for this plan and also by pushing for a meaningful agreement at Copenhagen.brRecalling his visit December last to Bangladesh, the UK Secretary, Douglas said he met people who had lost their homes, their possessions and in many cases their loved ones in Cyclone Sidr. I was humbled and inspired by the courage and solidarity they showed in the face of such devastation, he noted. brHe observed Environmentalists coined the phrase 'think global, act local'. In responding to climate change, we need to act both locally and globally. British aid is helping the people of Bangladesh to adapt to changing weather patterns helping farmers to turn to fishing; raising homes on plinths in flood-prone areas; and creating floating gardens to protect crops.brThe people of Bangladesh may be on the front line of climate change, yet they cannot battle against the rising tides alone. We need to reach a fair and ambitious deal in Copenhagen next year that includes a long-term goal to stabilise greenhouse gases at a level that will avoid dangerous climate change. The G8 meeting in Japan in July laid the groundwork for such an agreement, with leaders committing to a cut in emissions of at least 50 per cent. brThe world now has a duty to rise to the challenge and ensure that we support the poorest people of the world - least responsible for climate change - to prevent and prepare for its cruellest consequences, he added. brAnother report said Dhaka and London Wednesday made a joint call for other development partners to provide long-term financing as well as align and harmonize their contributions to help Bangladesh tackle calamitous climate change, which poses a threat of drowning a fifth of the country. brThe clarion call came in a communiqué Bangladesh and the United Kingdom signed at the London climate summit.brUK Minister for International Development Douglas Alexander and Finance Advisor Dr Mirza Azizul Islam signed the communiqué in the opening session of the 'UK-Bangladesh Climate Change Conference Facing the Challenges' at the Royal Geographical Society in the British capital.brBritish Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chief Advisor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed in their video messages urged the international community to support Bangladesh's mitigation and adaptation programme to combat the catastrophic impact of the changes in the climate.brDanish Minister for Development Ulla Tomas and Bangladesh Environment Movement president Prof Muzaffar Ahmed also spoke at the conference, calling for immediate global action to face global challenge posed by the erratic behaviour of the climate.brAround 250 environmental experts, policymakers and representatives of NGOs and civil society attended the daylong conference, held at a time when all corners of the present world are facing floods, droughts, tsunamis, cyclones, earthquakes or so of growing intensity.br