Bangladesh has been spending $2 billion a year since 2010 due to address climate change, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
Bangladesh is likely to be one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. Climate change in Bangladesh through tropical cyclones, storm surges, intrusion of saline waters, coastal erosion, silent climate migration are already showing huge impacts.
It has been estimated that by 2050, one in every seven people in Bangladesh will be displaced by climate change. Up to 18 million people may have to migrate because of sea level rise alone.
By 2050, with a projected 50 cm rise in sea level, Bangladesh may lose approximately 11 percent of its arable land, affecting an estimated 15 million people living in its low-lying coastal region.
The process of salinization has been worsened by rising sea levels. Coastal drinking water supplies have been contaminated with salt, leaving the 33 million people who rely on such resources vulnerable to health problems such as pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, acute respiratory infections and skin diseases.
“Everyone knows who is responsible for climate change,” he said adding that, rich countries are mainly responsible.
The finance minister came up with the statement while announcing the first-ever virtual “1st Climate Vulnerable Finance Summit” on Wednesday.
The Summit will be opened by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who is currently the Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and will be attended by the heads of state or government from the CVF.
The finance minister said, “We are suffering from climate change which is a man-made disaster.”
“The coal-fired power plant to be built at Matarbari will not produce as much carbon dioxide as has been expected,” he mentioned adding, “Besides, we are producing electricity from nuclear power in Rooppur, fossil fuel will not be used here.”
Regarding the fear of climate change, Mustafa Kamal said that the world is getting warmer due to the use of fossil fuels.
He said, “There are also problems with air travel. The continent of Antarctica has begun to melt. As a result, the lower part of our country will be submerged. The problem of climate change cannot be tackled without the help of developed countries. Everyone is suffering due to climate change.”
“We all know that 70,000 people died in Europe in 2003 due to climate change alone,” he mentioned.
The finance minister further said that it is possible to tackle climate change by opting to using more efficient technology like the solar energy.
However, the amount of land space is less in Bangladesh,” he said adding that, more land is required for solar energy production.
“We are making the best use of agricultural land to meet the demand for food,” he informed.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Chair of V20, announced on Wednesday the premier virtual V20 Climate Vulnerable Finance Summit to be attended by Heads of State or Government, G20 and major International Financial Institutions, including the Secretary General of the United Nations.
The summit scheduled to be held on 8 July from 7.30-9.50 pm is poised to become one of the most crucial and eminent platforms for decisive climate action in the lead up to COP26 Glasgow.
The Finance Minister said, “The Summit outcome ‘Communique to articulate’ will be the core priorities and initiatives of the V20 member economies following the G7 Summit and ahead of the G20 Climate & Energy Joint Ministerial and G20 Summits which represent a key interval on the road to COP26 in Glasgow.”
The honorable Finance Minister of Bangladesh has invited all the journalists from print, electronic and social media; civil society, academia, regional and international groups associated with climate change to join the first-ever virtual “1st Climate Vulnerable Finance Summit.”
