Climate Change: Put victims in charge of fighting impact

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the global leaders convening in Dubai for the COP28 climate summit to put the climate change victims in charge of fighting its impact.

“Climate change is a global disaster inflicted by the rich upon the poor — and increasingly upon themselves. Global leaders convening for the COP28 climate summit in Dubai need to understand that their top-down approach can never work,” Hasina wrote in an article that she co-authored with CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation Patrick Verkooijen.

The article was published in the American magazine Newsweek on Thursday. Global leaders are convening in Dubai for the COP28 climate summit to find ways to fight climate change impact.

“The climate breakdown will not wait while leaders equivocate… Only a tiny fraction of climate funding reaches the people battling the worst effects of climate change — they are without the resources needed to protect themselves and their livelihoods, leaving them more vulnerable,” reads the article.

“We need to find ways to quickly and efficiently channel all necessary funding to locally led climate-resilience initiatives. This calls for fresh thinking and a new approach,” it added.

The premier said in order to ensure that adaptation finance flows from developed to developing countries double to reach $40 billion by 2025, as pledged at COP26 in Glasgow, finance providers must on average increase annual adaptation flows by at least 16 percent between 2022 and 2025.

“Yet adaptation finance flows to developing countries declined 15 percent in 2021 to $21.3 billion. That is clearly too little. Yet less than 6 percent of this sum, and perhaps as little as 2 percent, reaches climate-resilience projects led by local communities,” the article reads.

It also states that the COP28 will only be a success if it achieves real benefits for the communities most affected by the climate crisis.

“This year’s climate summit must ensure that finance flows to the poor communities most affected by climate change, and into locally led, appropriate, and effective adaptation,” added the article.

HASINA AWARDED

The Global Centre for Climate Mobility, supported by IOM and the UN system, yesterday conferred the Asia Climate Mobility Champion Leader Award to Hasina, acknowledging her leadership in championing climate actions.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud, who is leading the Bangladesh delegation to the COP28’s high level segment, received the award on behalf of the prime minister, said a press release.

President of the UN General Assembly Ambassador Dennis Francis and Director General of IOM Amy Pope co-hosted the high-level panel.

Hasan Mahmud also presented a keynote speech at the event highlighting Bangladesh’s initiatives under the leadership of Hasina to offset the climate change challenges, including construction of the world’s largest multi-storied social housing project in Cox’s Bazar for rehabilitating 4,400 families displaced due to climate impacts.