Climate meet must not end in vain: Khaleda

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Leader of the Opposition and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia Thursday appealed to the world leaders attending the Copenhagen climate conference to stand for justice and come up with a final agreement to save the planet and people from the imminent danger of global warming, reports UNB.
"We must take responsibility in accordance with our different capacities, moral obligation and positions in the global economy. I hope, instead of looking only for market solution, such as 'carbon trading', we will take bold steps forward to address more fundamental issues such as restructuring the global economy and commit to changing our lifestyles to make the world more sustainable. The opportunity that has arrived in Copenhagen must not end in vain," she said in a statement to the press at her Gulshan office in the afternoon.
The former Prime Minister said Bangladesh people do not like to see themselves as dependent on 'aid' or to be reduced to merely 'receivers' of money, despite the fact that developed countries have moral obligation not only to mitigate the global vulnerability but also to support peoples' capacity-building for adaptation.
She said as the Leader of the Opposition they expect that government consults people's representatives, irrespective of their party affiliations, to draw national policies and programmes.
"This is not the time to realise partisan aspirations. I hope that our government does not reduce the Copenhagen COP-15 as merely an opportunity to receive funds from rich countries without raising fundamental issues that affect all of us both globally and nationally."
Khaleda noted that Bangladesh people are the most vulnerable due to climate change caused by the emission of greenhouse gases, although they are not the contributor to this calamity. Being a flood-prone low-lying riverine country, life and livelihood of the people of Bangladesh will be worst affected by the rise of sea level following the melting of ice, including the glaciers in the Himalayas.