Speakers yesterday urged the government to underline at the Conference of Parties 20 (COP20) in Peru both economic and non-economic losses and damage the country has been facing due to the adverse effects of climate change.
Addressing a roundtable in the capital, they said the government should create a national database of the impact of global warming in the country.
Meanwhile, at a human chain programme, the Transparency International Bangladesh said fairness and accountability should be ensured on the Global Climate Change funds as well as its expenditure.
COP20 begins today in Lima, the capital of Peru, and will end on December 12.
At the roundtable jointly organised by Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) and Christian Aid, UK, BCAS Executive Director Dr Atiq Rahman said salinity has already resulted in big economic losses in the agriculture and water sectors and non-economic damage such as changing ecosystem because of saline water could not be measured in terms of money.
Referring to a study conducted in Satkhira, Md Golam Rabbani, a BCAS fellow, said farmers of four villages there had incurred losses of $1.9m in rice production because of salinity in three years after Cyclone Aila in 2009.
According to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the 2013 World Bank report, Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in terms of the changing patterns of climate change, as the impacts include irregular rainfall, higher frequency of cyclone and flood, drought, salinity and the rise in sea levels.
The TIB organised the human chain in the TSC area of Dhaka University yesterday morning.
TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman alleged that the developed countries, which are responsible for climate change, had only 8% contribution per year to the $100 billion fund they promised.