Govt to take up Tk 300b project to tackle climate change impacts: Minister
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
The government is going to take up a Tk 300 billion mega project to address the country's climate change impacts, said State Minister for Environment and Forests Mostafizur Rahman Monday, reports UNB.
"Under the project, embankments will be extended and the heights of roads in costal areas will be raised apart from afforestation in drought-prone areas and dredging of rivers," he told reporters after the inaugural session of an international conference.
Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL) and Oxfam GB jointly organised the three-day conference titled 'International Civil Society Conference: the Rights of Most Vulnerable Countries in Climate Negotiations' at a city hotel.
Participants from Nepal, Cambodia, Samoa, Switzerland, Zambia, the Maldives, Ethiopia, Niger, Vietnam, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Tanzania and Tuvalu are taking part in the conference as part of preparation for negotiations at the 15th conference of Parties (COP15) in the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) in Copenhagen to be held in December next.
At the Copenhagen conference, the parties of the UNFCCC will meet for the last time at government level before the climate agreement needs to be renewed.
There is an urgent need for a new climate protocol, as the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming expires in 2012.
The state minister said the developed countries, particularly the Annex-1 nations, which were more responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, should come forward to ensure the survival of developing countries like Bangladesh through providing due compensation.
"We do hope that the Annex-1 countries would unconditionally contribute to our national fund in compensation and support the process of managing it (fund) through our national mechanisms decided by us," he said.
Chairperson of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change and Environment Saber Hossain Chowdhury, representative of Vietnam Network for Civil Society and Climate Change Dr Nguyen Huu Ninh, Convener of Campaign Steering Group of CSRL Shirin Akter and Country Director of Oxfam Heather Blackwell, among others, spoke at the conference with executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies Atiq Rahman in the chair.
The state minister said the government had formed two high-powered committees to prepare climate change strategies and action plan and deal with the national climate change fund.
"The government has allocated Tk 7.0 billion in the current national budget to address climate change impacts and this amount would be added to the National Climate Change Fund, raising the fund total to 10 billion," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Saber Chowdhury said Bangladesh would be the worst sufferer of climate change. "So, it's time to find out ways to get rid of the crisis. We need our own efforts to survive as the developed countries are imposing various conditions from time to time," he added.
He said now climate change was not only the issue of environment security for Bangladesh but also an issue of national security.
Saber said one-third of the country's coastal belt would go under water by 15-20 years, displacing 20 million people (climate refugees).
"Under the project, embankments will be extended and the heights of roads in costal areas will be raised apart from afforestation in drought-prone areas and dredging of rivers," he told reporters after the inaugural session of an international conference.
Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL) and Oxfam GB jointly organised the three-day conference titled 'International Civil Society Conference: the Rights of Most Vulnerable Countries in Climate Negotiations' at a city hotel.
Participants from Nepal, Cambodia, Samoa, Switzerland, Zambia, the Maldives, Ethiopia, Niger, Vietnam, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Tanzania and Tuvalu are taking part in the conference as part of preparation for negotiations at the 15th conference of Parties (COP15) in the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) in Copenhagen to be held in December next.
At the Copenhagen conference, the parties of the UNFCCC will meet for the last time at government level before the climate agreement needs to be renewed.
There is an urgent need for a new climate protocol, as the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate changes and global warming expires in 2012.
The state minister said the developed countries, particularly the Annex-1 nations, which were more responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, should come forward to ensure the survival of developing countries like Bangladesh through providing due compensation.
"We do hope that the Annex-1 countries would unconditionally contribute to our national fund in compensation and support the process of managing it (fund) through our national mechanisms decided by us," he said.
Chairperson of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change and Environment Saber Hossain Chowdhury, representative of Vietnam Network for Civil Society and Climate Change Dr Nguyen Huu Ninh, Convener of Campaign Steering Group of CSRL Shirin Akter and Country Director of Oxfam Heather Blackwell, among others, spoke at the conference with executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies Atiq Rahman in the chair.
The state minister said the government had formed two high-powered committees to prepare climate change strategies and action plan and deal with the national climate change fund.
"The government has allocated Tk 7.0 billion in the current national budget to address climate change impacts and this amount would be added to the National Climate Change Fund, raising the fund total to 10 billion," he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Saber Chowdhury said Bangladesh would be the worst sufferer of climate change. "So, it's time to find out ways to get rid of the crisis. We need our own efforts to survive as the developed countries are imposing various conditions from time to time," he added.
He said now climate change was not only the issue of environment security for Bangladesh but also an issue of national security.
Saber said one-third of the country's coastal belt would go under water by 15-20 years, displacing 20 million people (climate refugees).