I thank you, Madam Chair, for giving me the floor.
My delegation aligns itself with the statement delivered by the Chair of G77 & China.
Madam Chair,
The Secretary General’s reports under this Agenda Item revealed many harsh realities.
The pandemic has shown us the fragility of our economic systems and our development gains in the face of emergencies. And the serious constraints that we have in our efforts to ensure COVID vaccines for everyone, everywhere.
The pandemic has pushed Millions of people into poverty and hunger. The job market is facing its worst slump of our time. Two in three students are affected by school closures.
The worsening climatic condition has aggravated the situation further. The Climate Vulnerable countries are the worst victims.
The recent IPCC report calls for urgent actions to avoid permanent and irreversible damage to our planet earth.
More than ever before, we need coordinated global efforts and renewed partnerships to recover better and more resilient from the pandemic.
To this end, our pursuit for implementing Agenda-2030 must go hand in hand with Agenda-21, Paris Agreement, Sendai Framework, and the Biodiversity Convention.
Let me share a few specific thoughts in this regard:
First, we commend the UN Secretary General for successful holding of a Climate Dialogue, Food Systems Summit and Energy Summit during the high-level week of the UNGA.
We must build on this momentum to achieve bold and ambitious outcomes in the Climate and Biodiversity COPs.
Bangladesh is one of the most climate vulnerable countries. Yet we wish to contribute to the global efforts towards a climate resilient recovery.
Bangladesh is now leading the 48-Member Climate Vulnerable Forum. Amid the pandemic, we have launched the South Asian regional office for Global Center of Adaptation in Dhaka. And we have adopted, the ‘Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan’ to embark on a transformative journey that will take us from the current state of vulnerability to climate prosperity.
The development partners, as well as multilateral donors and the private sector should come forward to support such national efforts, especially of the most vulnerable countries by providing additional financial and technological support.
Second, we believe that Covid-19 recovery measures should complement climate actions and Disaster Risk Reduction to create stronger resilience against any shocks or calamities.
The SG’s report on implementation of the Sendai Framework recognized the strong nexus between the climate change and disasters. Amid the outbreak of the pandemic-19, many climate-vulnerable countries have faced cyclone, floods, and other recurring natural disasters.
We cannot, therefore, stress enough the importance of scaling up technology transfer and capacity development support for the CVF countries under the Paris and Sendai Frameworks.
Third, the Covid-19 has brought to the fore the inadequacy of the global response to the climate and bio-diversity emergencies.
Over the past decades, biodiversity has been declining at an alarming rate. If this trend continues, we run the risk of losing 30–50% of the planet’s species by the middle of the 21st century.
We look forward to an ambitious outcome of the biodiversity COP. It is imperative to create a stronger framework for future actions with particular focus in education and research, technology transfer, domestic laws and public awareness, adequate resources, and sharing of knowledge and good practices.
Finally, the pandemic has put sharp spotlight on the potentials of STI to accelerate SDGs implementation, even in the most challenging situations.
We must leverage the power of STI for closing the vaccine divides, digital divides and fostering inclusive growth.
It is imperative now to focus on the most critical areas of SDGs implementation impacted by Covid-19, including in health, education, job creation, agriculture, and climate vulnerabilities. And STI can be the essential accelerator.
I thank you all.