Speaking to media at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi rightly said that the world needs to prepare for millions of people being driven from their homes by the impact of climate change.
The world is now going through a situation where the most vulnerable countries, which deserve the highest level of priority, are failing to access whatever support that is being realised. Major emitters show extreme reluctance on mitigation, which may wreck the international climate regime and put the climate vulnerable countries like Bangladesh at peril.
China and India are the largest polluter and the third-largest emitter, are showing little willingness to embrace higher emissions targets. The United States, second on the list, has even invoked the accord’s formal withdrawal mechanism, a process leading to an official exit in November 2020. These major powers need to take a fresh, hard look at the fact that they and other members of the Group of 20 account for some 80 percent of global emissions of heat-trapping gases.
The world is now going through a
situation where the most vulnerable countries,
which deserve the highest level of priority,
are failing to access whatever support that is being realised
As developed countries are accountable for the severe consequences of climate change, they must provide necessary financial, technological and intellectual support to the developing countries following the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change. Moreover, developing countries like Bangladesh needs a global commitment to face climate challenges.
Considering the situation, international comminuty should realize the need for formulating coherent and research-backed policy, legal and institutional framework at global scale to address climate migration. Immediate steps should be taken to protect people from environmental risks and reduce unwanted migration due to climate change.