Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen asked youths to spread the information of climate change and science, and be part of the global flight to achieve ‘climate justice’ for Bangladesh.
“Youths are usually uncompromising, innovative and connected. We’ve all seen how young people took the forefront in solving complex problems,” he said. “We want to see the young people in the global fight to achieve climate justice for Bangladesh.”
He was speaking at the ‘YouthNet for Climate Justice’ organised virtual event in line with the theme of this year’s International Youth Day which is “Youth Engagement for Global Action”, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.
Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to climate change.
The trend of the last three decades indicates that the country will see an average temperature increase of 1.0 Celsius by 2030 and 1.4 Celsius by 2050 considering 1990 as the base year.
By 2050 one in every 45 people in the world and one in every 7 people in Bangladesh will become displaced by climate change.
“I am afraid these developments are irreversible,” the foreign minister said.
“We are talking about adaptation measures and Bangladesh has emerged as a global leader for adaptation. But we must remember that there is a limit to adaptation and we cannot just increase our adaptation while the polluting countries do not adopt the necessary mitigation efforts,” he said. “So, climate change is real and happening”.
“The solutions won’t come only from conference rooms and official platforms of the government officials, scientists, big corporations and politicians.
“Instead of being the part of the solution, many of them are actually the part of the problem,” he said.
Bangladesh is the chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum for the next two years.
Dr Momen said this gives Bangladesh an opportunity to lead the South-South sharing of knowledge, experience and expertise in adaptation to climate change amongst the vulnerable developing countries.
“In the era of Covid-19, this provides Bangladesh with the opportunity to show both national and global leadership in tackling the public health emergency as well as the climate change emergency at the same time engaging young people.”
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would likely participate at the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland next year not just to represent Bangladesh, but all the 48 most vulnerable developing countries that are members of the CVF.
“We consider that we should have the voice of the youth adequately heard at the COP26.”
He encouraged youths to be part of the solution as he said Bangladesh has a glorious history of the youth in the country.
“From our struggle for liberation under the great leadership of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to the heroic sacrifice during the War of Liberation in 1971, our youth repeatedly showed us the right path.
“Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has made tremendous achievements in involving and empowering the youth and our development has become a role model for many other developing countries,” he said.
“Today, in the context of the phenomenal global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and menace of climate change, the engagement of young people at the local, national and global levels is more important than ever.
“We all hear that the youths are our future. Actually they are also our present.
“The history proved that it was not possible to overcome the global challenges and to open new horizons of opportunities without the involvement of the youth.
“And climate change is the most critical global challenge of our times,” he said.
The foreign minister said the information and awareness about Climate Change and environmental impacts must reach all corners of society.
“Climate Change is affecting us all, so we all have to change our mindset, and more than that, our way of living. As youths you can bring that change. We have to turn concern into action,” he said.
This year Dhaka has been declared as The OIC-Youth Capita 2020.
“With the recently declared a special `Delta Fund’, we commit to promote young people’s innovations & solutions in building greater resilience to combat climate emergency,” he said.
