Bangladesh to present climate prosperity plan at COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow

Ahead of UN climate talks in Glasgow, a Bangladesh official said that the country was preparing to present its “climate prosperity plan" in order to lessen the effects of climatic change on the economy. The statement came from Bangladesh's special envoy to the Climate Vulnerable Forum, Abul Kalam Azad during an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday. Notably, world leaders, climate campaigners and activists from around the world are due to attend the UN conference, which was postponed by a year due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The global event will take place in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November.

As Bangladesh is considered the most prone to climate change due to its geographical conditions, the government's special envoy said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had especially advised the officials to prepare a climate prosperity plan that suited both climate as well as country's economy. According to Azad, the plan would be focused on boosting renewable energy, making agriculture more resistant to climate shocks and finding solutions in nature, such as restoring mangroves to protect coasts from cyclones. "Hopefully, we’ll be carrying this to COP26, requesting all vulnerable countries to have their own prosperity plans looking toward their own issues, own problems and own resources," said Azad during an interview with AP. 

Bangladesh economy thriving despite several climatic turbulence

It is worth mentioning that nearly 160 million people are tightly packed into low-lying areas along the Bay of Bengal that make the country's major population live under a fear of flood, extreme weather and the loss of farmland to rising sea levels. During the interaction, the government's envoy said it would encourage other similarly vulnerable countries to draft their own plans. It is worth mentioning that Bangladesh has emerged as one of Asia's fastest-growing economies in the last six decades. According to the IMF figures, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) has increased from $6.2 billion in 1972 to $305 billion in 2019 despite facing multiple climatic turbulence.

According to economic experts, the country has been foreseeing a double in size in terms of the economy by 2030. The country's goal is to become a higher middle-income country by 2031 and a developed one by 2041. However, with such a climatic condition, the country's dream has been a distant reality. "We live with nature ... we can’t change our inhabitants,” Azad said. The question now is how Bangladeshis could best continue living in the delta, he said. "To my understanding, there is no scope to fail. We must achieve. We must succeed," Azad said. It is worth mentioning that a research group that Australia was the worst climate performer among comparable developed countries.

With inputs from AP

Image; AP