Rich nations need to do more: PM

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Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina has urged the developed countries to come up strongly in helping the countries, which are vulnerable to climate change, to make their adaptation activities a success, reports UNB. She made the request while speaking as chief guest at the inauguration of the 'Fifth International Conference on Community-based Adaptation to Climate Change' at Hotel Sheraton in the city Monday morning. Hasina said though the development partners of Bangladesh pledged US$ 100 million to help the country face the climate change impacts, Bangladesh will need several billion dollars to successfully tackle the issues. The PM said the developed countries are mainly responsible for the global warming and the climate change, as they use fossil fuel in large quantity for their industrialisation. She further said that adaptation to the climate change is not the only way to be safe from the disastrous impacts of the global warming. "Green house emission must be reduced to protect the globe from the impacts of climate change." "Climate change, in fact, is an injustice to our people. They're not contributing at all to the climate change, but they're the worst victims of it," she said. The Prime Minister said steps to protect the world from the impacts of climate change must be taken at the earliest possible time. "The more is the delay, the more will we suffer." State Minister for Forests and Environment Dr Hasan Mahmud, climate change experts Dr Selimul Haque and Dr Atiq Rahman, and Forests and Environment Secretary Mesbahul Alam also spoke at the function. The weeklong conference began on March 24. Some 300 environmental experts and activists from 60 countries are participating in the conference that will conclude on March 31.