Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud urged the global community to take united initiative to combat the devastating effects of climate change.
“Bangladesh has become the innocent victim of climate change. According to World Bank, the carbon emission rate of Bangladesh is only 5 tons per capita,” he said at a side event on ‘Climate Change Initiative of Bangladesh’ at COP 25 on Wednesday.
Bangladesh, Korea and Japan jointly organised the side event. Mahmud said Bangladesh has taken initiatives to tackle climate change and installed over five million solar systems. “It is still one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change,” he reiterated.
The minister said the impact of climate change is now visible in Bangladesh.
“Sea levels are rising and salinity is increasing in coastal areas. Desertification has affected some areas. The ice of the Himalayas, the main source of water in Bangladesh, is melting fast. As a result, Bangladesh is now facing a multi-dimensional threat due to climate change,” he said.
Bangladesh has prepared an action plan for tackling the climate change and undertaken 720 domestically funded projects.
Hasan said Bangladesh is a small country with a large population. “Our priority sectors are education and health but we cannot focus on them due to climate change,” he said.
