Dhaka expects clear direction at COP22

“The Paris Agreement adopted at COP21 last year contains all the measures to tackle the negative impact of climate change, but there is no definition or mechanism as to how to implement those measures,” said Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed, secretary at the Ministry of Environment and Forest. “Bangladesh wants a clear direction especially on the use of the climate fund as it urgently needs the fund to implement climate change adaptation measures,” he added. The discussion, titled “Climate change is not a fatality,” was held at the residence of French Ambassador in Dhaka Sophia Aubert, where Kamal was a special guest. The COP22 will take place in Marrakesh, Morocco on November 7-18 this year. Speaking at the event, Dr Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, said Paris Agreement was like a fishing net, covering all the issues but leaving a lot of loopholes. “Global leaders have to come to consensus on how to meet the goal of keep global temperature rise under 1.5-2 degrees Celsius. That is why the upcoming conference on climate change is crucial,” he said. Dr Kamal said Bangladesh also needed a specific plan on how to keep the temperature rise under the intended limit as it is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of global warming. Expressing the need for filling the gaps in Paris Agreement, French Ambassador Sophie Aubert said: “Considering the climate change as a global threat, we need to resolve the loopholes in the upcoming meetings.” Mahmood Malik, executive director of Infrastructure and Development Company Limited (IDCOL), said: “The world’s development should take a clean path by using clean energy resources and avoiding fossil fuel, which contributes to the global temperature rise.” The French Ambassador agreed with him. “We need to break the vicious cycle of global warming by taking clean development path for the sake of our future generation,” she said. According to the provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 186 countries across the world have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contribution on greenhouse gas emission, submitting their plan to reduce carbon-dioxide emission by 2030. However, experts say if the current plan is followed, the global temperature rise will exceed 3 degrees Celsius by the target period, which is why more stringent plan is necessary to limit the temperature rise. The discussion was also attended by US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat, Indian Deputy High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dr Adarsh Swaika, and Dutch Ambassador in Dhaka Leoni Cuelenaere, among others.