The world has long been experiencing extreme weather in different regions that experts are attributing to the global warming resulting mostly from the emission by industrial nations and their reluctance to release the climate funds they had committed in the 2002 Earth Summit in South Africa.
Big emitters of greenhouse gas had pledged to provide funds to the tune of US$ 100 billion every year to less wealthy countries, who are the main sufferers of the high rate of emission, to tackle the impacts of global warming but they have not kept their commitment.
Repeated demands made by least developed and developing countries at different global forums for the release of the funds have fallen flat, much to their resentment of frustration.
Two-thirds of Europe faced severe drought, the worst in 500 years, while America saw unprecedented wildfire and Asia suffered recurring flooding.
Experts believe China, the United States, India, Russia and European Union, who are the biggest contributor to global carbon emissions, are mostly responsible for the extreme weather.
According to several reports, global warming has continued since the beginning of industrialisation. In the last 100 years, the average temperature of the earth has increased by about one degree Celsius every year. The rise in sea level due to climate change is much higher than expected.
Against such a backdrop, Bangladesh Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin on Thursday said developed countries must disburse $100 billion funds per year where there must be a 50:50 balance between mitigation and adaptation.
Doubling the adaptation finance is critical to meeting the adaptation needs of vulnerable countries, he said.
Speaking at an LDC ministerial meeting held in Dakar, Senegal on Wednesday, the minister said many LDCs have prepared and are in the process of preparing their national adaptation plans (NAPs). Now funding for the implementation of the NAPs is urgently needed.
The minister of Senegal and the ministers and delegates from LDC countries were present at the meeting.
The environment minister said, "We have to urgently address our growing adaptation needs at local and national levels. At the same time, we cannot forget the urgency of reducing ever-increasing global emissions, the root cause of global climate change.”
“The scale of loss and damage is already significant at just over 1°C of warming and will continue to grow if climate change is not halted. Now it is the time to design and build the funding arrangements that are absolutely needed to address loss and damage," he said.
Shahab Uddin said, “We must urgently scale up mitigation ambition and implementation without which we will never achieve the 1.5°C temperature goal. To this end, global emissions must be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 relative to 2010 levels.”
However, he said, developed countries must take the lead in global mitigation efforts, and countries with greater capabilities, particularly G-20 countries, should also play a significant role.
Until now, scientists assumed that by the year 2100, the maximum rise in sea level would be a little less than one meter.
The research published in the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' said if carbon emissions are not reduced, the future world will be five degrees Celsius warmer than it is now. In that case, by the year 2100, the sea level will rise from 62 cm to 238 cm.