German, French ministers witness climate change effects on BD

German Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French Laurent Fabius on Monday visited Bangladesh to witness the effects of climate change on this country. In the run-up to the crucial climate conference COP21 in Paris, the two Foreign Ministers wanted to set a strong symbol by jointly visiting Bangladesh, a country that is heavily threatened by the adverse effects of climate change, according to a joint press statement. Their trip gave them a firsthand impression of the impact of global warming and the possible adaptation strategies in the areas of disaster risk reduction and long-term agricultural adaptation. During their daylong visit to Bangladesh, Ministers Fabius and Steinmeier were scheduled to inaugurate one of the anti-cyclone shelters, which were built with support from German development cooperation, KfW, in Patuakhali district.  They also wanted to meet local people and farmers, who received training through BARI and the German implementation agency GIZ, in adapting with the consequences of climate change to get firsthand information. However, that the programme had to be cancelled due to bad weather conditions. Instead, they took a boat trip on the Bangshi River North-West of Dhaka. The trip was organized by the French – Bangladeshi NGO ‘Friendship’, working for 14 years to help address the needs of marginalised communities, highly suffering from climate changes' impact. Their joint trip underlines the commitment of the two European nations to broker a pragmatic, yet comprehensive, legally-binding agreement in Paris. Tackling climate change is a challenging task for the whole international community. And the burden to avoid further environmental hazards caused by climate change has to be shared, according to a news agency.
- biplab