CVF Chair Speech at Race-to-Zero Dialogues

Source: Climate Vulnerable Forum

H.E. Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh

November 19, 2020

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

Heads of State and Government,

Ladies and Gentlemen and friends,

Assalamu Alaikum and good evening to you all.

Our nature is currently under existential threat due to our own actions. The global temperature has already risen almost 1 degree centigrade above the pre-industrial level and causing huge devastations worldwide. According to the Paris Climate Accord, we should not allow the global temperature to rise above 1.5 degree centigrade. However, as per the current prediction, the temperature could even rise by more than 4.5 ˚C by the end of this century making the Earth completely uninhabitable if immediate remedial actions are not taken by us.

Ladies and Gentleman,

Though the climate change is a stark reality for all, it is more evident for the climate vulnerable countries. Further increase of sea level, even for half a metre could threaten the very survival of many climate vulnerable countries. Bangladesh is the seventh most affected countries of the world due to the adverse impacts of climate change according to the Climate Change Vulnerability Index, 2019 of German Watch. Considering global high risks, the leadership of our national parliament declared a “Planetary Emergency” and called upon the world to work “on a war footing’’ to stop climate change. We expect the same approach from the rest of the global leadership.

Dear Friends,

We have been honoured to be chosen for the second time to lead the Climate Vulnerable Forum of the 48 states that are most vulnerable to climate change. Last month, on behalf of CVF, I have launched “Midnight Survival Deadline for the Climate” initiative to urge every leader of every nation to enhance their NDCs by the midnight of 31^st December of this year. We firmly believe that all the governments need to substantially increase their ambitions to the best of their capacity if we want to save our planet and ourselves. The bottom 100 countries account for just 3.5 percent of the global emission whereas the G20 countries are responsible for three quarters of the global emission. So, we expect more responsible actions from the leadership of these countries. We also call for an international day to be named “Climate Resilience Day” to secure our harmony with mother earth.

Excellencies,

To save life and precious resources, necessary decisions, however difficult, must be taken by the global leadership to reduce carbon emission. The current global pandemic showed how we need the consensus decision of the global leadership to fight extreme adversity. In Bangladesh, this year, we are celebrating the birth centenary of the Father of our Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who recognized the threats posed by natural calamities for our people much earlier and worked tirelessly to overcome these and protect the rights of the people. And in this important year, we have decided to launch a program to develop a national “Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan” to help mobilize resources for the implementation of a new pathway to secure our common future.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The time to take action to save the planet is not tomorrow, it is today. Strict implementation of the Paris Agreement is the only way out and the issue of ‘Loss and Damage’ must be mainstreamed. We call for the promised $ 100 Billion per year to support adaptation and mitigation activities. We ask the concerned global leadership to assure concessional finance and debt relief and access to technology for all. Only by the unified global action we can overcome the impending crisis.

Thank you all.