Saima Wazed Hossain, Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Autism, has been chosen as a “Thematic Ambassador” by Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) under the thematic domain of ‘Vulnerability’.
Besides Saima, the CVF also made Speaker and former President of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Philippines Loren Legarda and Lead Climate Change Specialist of DR of Congo Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu as its “Thematic Ambassadors” under three other thematic domains respectively – Ambition, Parliament and Renewable Energy.
On behalf of the Bangladesh Presidency and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen invited them to take the roles, a foreign ministry statement said today (Wednesday), BSS reported.
“As CVF thematic ambassadors, they will endeavor to create global public campaign and mobilise different stakeholders, groups and voices to raise global awareness on climate vulnerabilities, especially to pursue countries to keep the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5 degree centigrade alive,” the statement said.
Saima Wazed, Mohamed Nasheed, Loren Legarda and Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu are highly regarded in the respective domain due to their outstanding and prolonged expertise and dedication in their fields of work.
Saima, also daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is an expert on neurodevelopment disorders and mental health, and an accomplished speaker and author.
She is widely credited for bringing the mental health issues to the mainstream and breaking social barriers to acceptance of persons with disabilities and was instrumental for the adoption of UN resolution titled ‘Addressing the Socioeconomic Needs of Individuals, Families and Societies Affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders, Developmental Disorders and Associated Disabilities’ in 2012.
Mohamed Nasheed’s relentless efforts in promoting ambition in reducing global carbon emission are internationally acclaimed while his unique initiative in holding the underwater cabinet meeting to highlight the threat of climate change and global warming received widespread global attention during his presidency, the statement said.
It said Loren Legarda is one of the most prolific parliamentarians in the world and is behind a host of acts of the Philippines parliament on climate change while Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu has several years of experience in the areas of finance, climate change, economic development, carbon markets, renewable energy, environment and diplomacy.
After assuming the CVF’s Presidency and the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Finance Ministers, Bangladesh has decided to engage six “Thematic Ambassadors” to help strengthen its networking and engagements with key actors throughout the world in six identified core areas of ambition, culture, finance, parliaments, renewable energy and vulnerability.
Two more Thematic Ambassadors for culture and finance will also be appointed from Marshall Islands and Costa Rica, said the statement.
The Thematic Ambassadors will also help pursue the agenda and key priorities of the CVF Presidency and contribute to safeguarding the interests of the climate vulnerable countries by outreaching existing and new networks beyond the executive branch of the government.
They will advocate on behalf of CVF countries and coordinate international cooperation to fight against the adverse impacts of climate change, the statement added.
On June 9, Bangladesh formally took over the presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group of Ministers of Finance for the term 2020-2022 from the Marshall Islands.
The CVF is a global partnership of 48 countries that are disproportionately affected by the consequences of global warming.
In December last year at the 25th Annual Conference of Parties (COP25), known as the UN Climate Change Conference, in Paris Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accepted a proposal of Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine to take over the charge of the chair of CVF from this year.
