I thank you, Ambassador Perks and Ambassador Woodroffe for convening this briefing for our Group. This is particularly timely in view of our preparations for the LDC-5 Conference.
I thank Mr. Archie Young, and Ms. Born, for their comprehensive briefing on preparations for COP-26.
I also thank my good friend Amb. Doma Tshering for highlighting the priorities of the LDC group.
We really appreciate the efforts being made by the COP President to reach out and rally support for ambitious climate targets in the lead up to Glasgow. [Thank you] As a founding member of the Adaptation Action Coalition (AAC) with the UK and Malawi, we look forward to our continued collaboration in the lead up to COP26. The Climate Ambition Summit last December was an important step forward.
We hope that the upcoming Climate and Development Ministerial will build on that momentum and further advance our shared agenda on climate issues, especially to define a climate resilient pathway to recover from COVID-19 pandemic. We appreciate that the Ministerial places climate financing issues high on its agenda, as well as one adaptation and mitigation responses to climate impacts.
Allow me to share some of our priorities and expectations of the Ministerial:
First, the preparations for the COP-26 and the LDC5 conference will be taking place parallelly. We need to seize this opportunity to provide special attention to LDCs issues in the COP-26 Agenda and vice-versa. The LDCs contribute the least to climate change, yet they are the worst victims. We must, therefore, ensure adequate support measures for them to tackle the perils of climate change. It is also imperative to consider the special circumstances of graduating LDCs which are on the frontline of climate vulnerabilities.
Second, climate change is primarily a development issue. And the development-centric focus should remain central in our climate change discourses, policies, and actions.
Third, as one the most climate vulnerable countries in the world, we recognize the importance of the nexus between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has put sharp spotlight on this issue. Amid the pandemic, many climate vulnerable countries including Bangladesh have been facing devastating cyclones, floods, and other natural disasters. It is, therefore, imperative to enhance adaptation capacities of the climate vulnerable countries, especially to tackle double jeopardy of such pandemics and disasters.
Fourth, I echo Amb. Doma’s call we must redouble efforts to limit global warming by 1.5 degree centigrade to keep to our shared promise at Paris. Bangladesh is now the President of the 48-member Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF). In that capacity, we encouraged CVF member states to submit ambitious NDCs before the deadline of December 2020. In our own NDC, we declared the launch of a set of strategic documents in line with our emission reduction targets, which include Mujib Climate Prosperity Pla n 2021-2030, and National Solar Energy Roadmap, 2021-2041.
Fifth, we are happy to see that the upcoming Ministerial wishes to address the climate financing issue in a holistic manner. We are far from fulfilling our promises of mobilizing 100 billion dollars by 2020 for climate financing. It is critical to scale up global efforts to meet the burgeoning gaps in climate financing, especially now to build back better in a climate resilient way. We must leverage the upcoming Ministerial to build consensus around this issue.
Finally, we reiterate the critical need for technology and knowledge transfer for carrying forward our mitigation and adaptation efforts. Climate impacts are being felt most in the global south; whereas the knowledge and technology is in the global north. That disparity needs to be bridged to find effective solutions.
Finally-finally, thank you, Mr. Young, for highlighting the loss and damage issue; it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. We look forward to some tangible progress in that area at the upcoming Ministerial and in Glasgow.
I thank you all.
