\\\'Climate change most serious threat Bangladesh facing\\\'

British High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert Gibson has said the changing climate is one of the most serious threats Bangladesh is facing. Gibson said this while, he along with the envoys of two other European countries, visited three climate adaptation projects in Dhamrai in the outskirts of the city on Monday. UK envoy Gibson, Chargé d’affaire of German embassy in Dhaka Ferdinand von Weyhe and Chargé d’affaire of French embassy Babou Kamichetty have visited different areas near the city to see themselves the impact climate change is already having in Bangladesh and how some of its effects can be mitigated. The three highly developed European states – UK, Germany and France – are observing joint climate diplomacy today (Sept 9) in more than 20 countries across the world, including Bangladesh. There will be a joint launch event of the climate diplomacy day in Berlin, Germany, today (Tuesday). Climate foreign policy experts will meet representatives from political, science, business, NGO, and media circles to discuss climate diplomacy priorities and will witness UK-German-French projects in action overseas. Bangladesh is globally known for being most vulnerable to climate change, though it contributes less than 2 per cent of the global carbon (CO2) emission. ‘We must all be part of the solution and act on it now,’ UK High Commissioner Gibson told journalists after visiting the three projects in Dhamrai of Savar Upazila. During the visit, the three envoys stressed the importance of an international agreement to tackle climate change. ‘We stand ready to listen to all our partners, and are especially keen to work with our developing country partners such as Bangladesh,’ said French Chargé d’affaire Babou Kamichetty. Chargé d’affaire of German embassy Ferdinand von Weyhe said: ‘Restricting global climate change is indeed a task for all of us and the EU should lead the way.’ He said their visit to Dhamrai was ‘a strong symbol of both our mutual co-operation on climate change and our desire to support Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi people to adapt to climate change in urban areas’. UK envoy Gibson said the projects they saw were helping ‘some of the most vulnerable people in Bangladesh to adapt to the impacts of the changing climate’. The diplomats said they would carry out series of activities in the run up to the next year’s UN Climate Change Conference from November 30 to December 11. It will be the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the 11th session of the Meeting of the Parties (CMP 11) to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, according to a news agency.