Climate challenges

Dhaka will enrich COP26 meet with wealth of ideas: EU Ambassador


FE REPORT | Published: October 13, 2021 09:59:55 | Updated: October 13, 2021 17:50:52


Dhaka will enrich COP26 meet with wealth of ideas: EU Ambassador

Ambassador of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley believes a wealth of ideas of Bangladesh to address climate challenges will enrich its preparation for the upcoming COP26 meet.

He recognised the country's leading role in the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).

"Bangladesh has a wealth of ideas on how to address the challenges of climate change both at home and in the wider world," says Mr Whiteley.

"This exchange will help to enrich our preparations for COP 26 and to deliver a result that meets the need and expectations of both Bangladesh and the EU."

The envoy was addressing a roundtable on climate change in the city on Monday ahead of the COP26 beginning in Glasgow on October 31, said an EU Delegation release on Tuesday.

Centre for Policy Dialogue executive director Dr Fahmida Khatun, BRAC University professor emeritus Dr Ainun Nishat, Muniruzzaman and Shafqat Munir of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies, Dr Mizanur Rahman Khan of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development, Dr Atiq Rahman of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies, and UNDP climate specialist AK Mamunur Rashid spoke.

Officials of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh Jeremy Opritesco, Dario Trombetta and Towheed Feroze also took part in the programme.

Mr Whiteley highlighted the EU's commitment to achieving 'climate neutrality' by 2050 and underlined the important role played by both Bangladesh and the EU in the climate discourse.

Other discussants shed light on the country's expectations from the COP26 and explored areas of working together with the EU after the meet to build climate resilience.

They underscored meeting pledges on climate finance, the importance of technology transfer and capacity building, and keeping the warming limit to 1.5 degrees.

The speakers also called for international discussion on climate-induced migration, the impact of Covid-19 and the importance of building resilience in the meet.

The EU Delegation representatives told the roundtable that the EU's Climate Adaptation Strategy was published last August.

The Team Europe Initiative on Green Energy Transition is expected to support the fulfilment of Bangladesh's energy needs through renewable energy, they cited.

smunima@yahoo.com

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