“The time to take action to save the planet is not tomorrow, but today.” — Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as Chair of CVF at CVF leaders’ event at the UNGA, New York on October 7, 2024. “I believe our Presidency’s most important legacy will be to shift the narrative from climate vulnerability to resilience and prosperity. In Bangladesh, we are …

By now there have been many analysis pieces written about COP28 and the successes or failures it has delivered. This is partly due to a Conference of Parties (COP) final decision document which can be hundreds of pages long, with complexities on many articles (chapters of the decision), specific wordings and language that is finally decided (the severity of the …

This year’s climate summit—the 28th Conference of the Parties for climate change (COP28)—started with a surprise on the very first day: the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund, where the COP28 presidency pioneered a pledge of $100 million. By the end of the event, the pledges totalled almost $700 million. Though this amount is paltry compared to what is needed …

The editorial team at The Daily Star is shocked and deeply saddened by the death of eminent climate expert and scientist Dr Saleemul Huq OBE. He passed away earlier today due to massive cardiac arrest. Dr Huq was 71 years old and had been in hospital for treatment, as per our last email correspondence with him on October 11. As a leading global figure …

Professor Saleemul Huq OBE, a leading global figure in climate change research and policy, passed away in the early hours today, in Dhaka. He was 71. Family sources said he passed away due to a massive cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife Kashana Huq, son Saqib Huq, and daughter Sadaf Huq. His namaz-e-janaza will be held after Asr …

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guitterez, has been holding an annual Climate Action Summit on the margins of the UN General Assembly in September each year. He invites world leaders to come and share what they are doing to tackle climate change, the biggest human-induced global crisis. Over the years, his language to describe the situation has become …

Back in 2015, three essential global agreements were adopted with targets set in 2030. We are at the halfway point of this time frame; if we review the current situation, the progress is not good. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change was adopted at the 21st UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in December 2015. Two main commitments were agreed upon: …

During the short visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Bangladesh, he wanted to take a boat ride on the Turag River and also meet with certain individuals to discuss what to do to tackle climate change. I was privileged to be one of four individuals selected to spend nearly an hour with Macron on the boat ride. The others …

As far as climate change is concerned, the Asia Pacific is highly significant. In this region, we have China, Japan and India emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases, while low-lying areas are facing the threats brought on by the waters. Just recently, China and India suffered major flooding, which has caused much devastation. In South Korea – where I’ve been …

The recent floods in Bandarban and Chattogram have left behind a trail of deaths, while waterlogging put countless lives in misery. To make matters worse, this was just one of the many episodes caused by unusually heavy rainfall, and we must expect more of such incidents as human-induced climate change continues. While Bangladesh has been doing quite well in adapting …