Global community should support Bangladesh's climate: IPCC Chair
Thursday, 8 November 2007
Bangladesh, which is continuously hit by floods, cyclones and sea-level rise, has become an emblem in facing adverse climatic behaviour. Global community especially the industrialised countries should support Bangladesh in implementing her adaptation programmes immediately so that she can shrug off draconian impacts of climate change by innovation in her agriculture and fisheries to ensure food security of 150 million people, reports BSS.
Chair of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Rajendra K Pachauri, who won Noble Peace Prize this year with former US Vice- President Al Gore, said this adding, 'Bangladesh needs innovation in agriculture and fisheries to ensure food security for its people in the face of increasing adverse impact caused by climate change.'
He asked the industrialised countries to come forward to support in a big way Bangladesh and other coastal and small island countries which would be the worst hit countries because of luxurious life-styles of the rich nations emitting greenhouse gases causing sea-level rise and climate change.
" Given the scale and level of worst affects to hit the low-lying deltaic country, it's highly immoral to ask Bangladesh to implement her adaptation programmes from her own domestic resources to face huge adverse climatic events," he told a group of Asian journalists.
Pachauri regretted that neither global community nor US and other most industrialised countries really know how deeply Bangladesh is going to be worstly hit by adverse climatic events and said," I think, the people of Bangladesh are already facing the draconian impacts in the form of abrupt rainfalls, changes in the weather, more heat and severe cold waves and more intense and frequent floodings, cyclones and droughts.
Pachauri said, "I admire Bangladesh for her efforts. But, global community should come forward because Bangladesh is not at all responsible for this human induced climate change, rather Bangladesh is an innocent victim. Dhaka, Kolkata and Shanghai are the major cities to be the worst hit in case of climate change."
Pachauri urged his country, India, to emerge as a role model in the South Asian people's struggle against climate change. 'The South Asian countries should work together to face climate change, a politically neutral issue, as the poorest section of the people will be the worst hit. And India should emerge as a role model to face the crisis.'
Lead author of the Human Development Report 2007 of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Kevin Watkins also warned that it is the world's most poor people who are at the frontline of climate risks including those of Bangladesh.
"Incremental risks of heavy monsoon, cyclones and crop failures will hit the poorest people. They will not be able to successful in managing those risks. Climate threat really restricts people's choice," Kevin pointed out.
The UNDP organised the media workshop in partnership with the Water and Sanitation Programme of the World Bank and the Swiss Development Corporation. A total of thirty journalists from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines participated in the workshop.
Both Pachauri and Kevin called for more drastic actions and suggested countries like Bangladesh to show-case her achievements in adaptation so far as well as vulnerability so that global community is sensitized about Dhaka's urgent requirement to face erratic climatic behaviours more efficiently.
Chair of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Rajendra K Pachauri, who won Noble Peace Prize this year with former US Vice- President Al Gore, said this adding, 'Bangladesh needs innovation in agriculture and fisheries to ensure food security for its people in the face of increasing adverse impact caused by climate change.'
He asked the industrialised countries to come forward to support in a big way Bangladesh and other coastal and small island countries which would be the worst hit countries because of luxurious life-styles of the rich nations emitting greenhouse gases causing sea-level rise and climate change.
" Given the scale and level of worst affects to hit the low-lying deltaic country, it's highly immoral to ask Bangladesh to implement her adaptation programmes from her own domestic resources to face huge adverse climatic events," he told a group of Asian journalists.
Pachauri regretted that neither global community nor US and other most industrialised countries really know how deeply Bangladesh is going to be worstly hit by adverse climatic events and said," I think, the people of Bangladesh are already facing the draconian impacts in the form of abrupt rainfalls, changes in the weather, more heat and severe cold waves and more intense and frequent floodings, cyclones and droughts.
Pachauri said, "I admire Bangladesh for her efforts. But, global community should come forward because Bangladesh is not at all responsible for this human induced climate change, rather Bangladesh is an innocent victim. Dhaka, Kolkata and Shanghai are the major cities to be the worst hit in case of climate change."
Pachauri urged his country, India, to emerge as a role model in the South Asian people's struggle against climate change. 'The South Asian countries should work together to face climate change, a politically neutral issue, as the poorest section of the people will be the worst hit. And India should emerge as a role model to face the crisis.'
Lead author of the Human Development Report 2007 of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Kevin Watkins also warned that it is the world's most poor people who are at the frontline of climate risks including those of Bangladesh.
"Incremental risks of heavy monsoon, cyclones and crop failures will hit the poorest people. They will not be able to successful in managing those risks. Climate threat really restricts people's choice," Kevin pointed out.
The UNDP organised the media workshop in partnership with the Water and Sanitation Programme of the World Bank and the Swiss Development Corporation. A total of thirty journalists from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines participated in the workshop.
Both Pachauri and Kevin called for more drastic actions and suggested countries like Bangladesh to show-case her achievements in adaptation so far as well as vulnerability so that global community is sensitized about Dhaka's urgent requirement to face erratic climatic behaviours more efficiently.