Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the country's smooth transition from the LDC to developing country might be disrupted due to frequent climate-induced disasters.
She said: “Bangladesh has been recommended for graduation from the LDC by 2026. However, frequent climate-induced disasters may disrupt our smooth transition. Climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction are, therefore, policy priorities of my government.”
She said this in a recorded speech of the Prime Minister that was aired in the 79th Annual Session of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific on "Accelerating Climate Action in Asia and the Pacific for Sustainable Development".
As Bangladesh has been hosting 1.2 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals, their overdue presence not only poses a serious security threat but also triggers a severe environmental degradation, she said.
She reiterated her call to take concerted efforts to send them back to their homes in Myanmar.
"Let us join our hands together to consolidate our partnership to fight against the perilous threats of climate change and make the world a safer and better place for our future generation," she said.
Mentioning that climate change is the real challenge of recent time, she said: "I would like to propose the following steps that ESCAP may take into account."
In the proposals, Sheikh Hasina said that climate-vulnerable developing countries, especially in Asia and the Pacific, require adequate finances to implement their NAP as well as to achieve NDC targets.
She also said that International Support Measures of knowledge sharing, technology transfer and innovation-driven trade and investment are to be placed for transition towards climate resilience growth for the graduating countries.
Trade facilitation measures, digital trade and IT-enabled services should be available in the developing countries to deal with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and mitigate the challenges of climate change, she continued.
"Sub-regional cooperation is to be strengthened, especially accelerating the current partnership and developing new partnerships, for promoting the climate actions for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific," said the premier.
Sheikh Hasina said that the Asia and the Pacific region, home to 60 percent of the world's population, is highly vulnerable to climate change.
The region is facing natural calamities like floods, cyclones, heat waves and droughts in an increased rate due to the impacts of climate change affecting lives and livelihoods, she said.
She mentioned that Bangladesh is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world although its contribution to global emission is very negligible.
In October 2022, she said Bangladesh submitted the National Adaptation Plan-NAP to UNFCCC. It has identified 113 interventions across 8 priority areas with a costing outlay of around 230 billion US dollars upto 2050.
Bangladesh has also submitted an ambitious and updated Nationally Determined Contributions-NDC to the UNFCCC in 2021, she added.
"We have adopted the 'Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100', a 100-year strategic plan, for achieving a safe, climate-resilient prosperous delta," she said.
Sheikh Hasina said they are also implementing the 'Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan spanning from 2022 to 2041 with the vision of setting Bangladesh's development trajectory from vulnerability to resilience.
BDST: 1617 HRS, MAY 15, 2023
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