Leaders’ Summit on Climate will largely incorporate issues raised by Bangladesh: Momen

The "Leaders' Summit on Climate", set to be held later this week, will largely incorporate the issues raised by Bangladesh as the United States is "giving increased importance" to it as its partner in tackling the climate crisis, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said.

 

"They're showing much interest in Bangladesh. They've taken note of key issues that should come up in the Summit agenda," foreign minister told UNB during an interaction at his residence.

 

The US praised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her leadership in the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), and she will be "recognised for Bangladesh's leadership", especially for leading climate-vulnerable countries, during the summit.

 

US President Joe Biden, who took action on his first day in office to return the United States to the Paris Agreement, has invited 40 world leaders, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to join the Summit to be held on April 22 and 23.

 

On the issue of the national determined contribution (NDC), Momen emphasised, on behalf of Bangladesh as well as the CVF, that all countries need to work hard to fulfill their NDCs at the earliest.

 

"We talked about US$ 100 billion financial flow and the issue of NDC. Hopefully, these will be included in the agenda," Dr Momen said.

 

Bangladesh submitted an interim NDC on December 31, 2020, and was reviewing the potential to enhance its mitigation ambition to submit a quantified ambitious NDC by June 2021.

Dr Momen said NDC is a big agenda for Bangladesh which is leading the Climate Vulnerable Forum. "Bangladesh wants to see each country meet their NDC aggressively. We believe that the Paris Agreement is the way out."

 

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, during his recent visit to invite Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, consulted Bangladesh to know which issues should get focus on the summit agenda, Dr Momen said.

 

The Foreign Minister said Kerry wanted to know about the scope of hydroelectricity in Bangladesh. Bangladesh conveyed that friendly countries India, Nepal, and Bhutan have better scopes for hydroelectricity generation.

 

The issue of rehabilitation of the population displaced because of river erosion and also from the coastal areas because of the sea-level rise was discussed.

 

The US highly appreciated Bangladesh's excellent adaptation and mitigation efforts and mentioned that Bangladesh had shown amazing resilience to climate change despite many adversities.

 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are among the participants invited by the US President.

 

The Summit will underscore the urgency and the economic benefits of stronger climate action.

 

It will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November in Glasgow, according to the White House.