DHAKA, Dec 12, 2019 (BSS – Mentioning that Bangladesh is facing multi-dimensional threats due to the adverse impact of climate change as the country has become the innocent victim of global warming, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said the international community should initiate integrated approach to cope the adverse impact of climate change.
“Bangladesh is still one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change . . . the carbon emission rate of Bangladesh is only 0.5 tonnes per person,” he said, addressing a sideline event titled ‘Climate Change Initiative of Bangladesh’ at COP 25 in Madrid, Spain, according to a press release received here today.
Bangladesh, Korea and Japan jointly organised the sideline event.
The impact of climate change is now visible in Bangladesh, Hasan said, adding “Though Bangladesh is not responsible for climate change, the country has taken initiatives to tackle climate change and installed over five million solar systems to deal the adverse impact of global warming.”
Depicting the present scenario of Bangladesh caused by climate change, he said “Sea levels are rising and salinity is increasing in coastal areas. Desertification has affected some areas of northern Bangladesh. The ice of the Himalayas, the main source of water in Bangladesh, is melting fast. As a result, Bangladesh is now facing a multi-dimensional danger due to climate change.”
The minister urged the global community to take united initiative to combat the devastating effects of climate change.
Hasan, also former environment minister, said Bangladesh is a small country with a large population.
“Our priority sectors are education and health. But we cannot focus on them due to climate change,” he added.
The minister said Bangladesh has prepared an action plan for tackling the climate change and undertaken 720 domestically funded projects to deal with the catastrophic situation, the release added.