Tag: The Daily Star

The who’s and how’s of allocating loss and damage funds

During the negotiations on funding for loss and damage in COP27 in Egypt last November, representatives of developed countries had a lot of reservations about such a proposal. My answer to them was that, while their questions were quite legitimate, they would only get answers after we received a political commitment from their leaders to…
Bangladesh takes another step in leading global climate adaptation

On December 11, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally launched the new Global Hub on Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) in Dhaka along with the foreign minister and environment minister, and Ban Ki-Moon, head of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA). The new Global Hub on LLA will be located in the Dhaka office of the GCA,…
What Bangladesh must do now as a global climate leader

The recent agreement by all countries to establish a new fund for loss and damage from human-induced climate change at COP27 was a simple recognition of an unfortunate reality that has existed for a long time. The reality is that the impacts that are now scientifically attributable to global temperature rise are now happening every…
The story behind the loss and damage fund at COP27

COP27 ended a day overtime on November 20 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt with the historic achievement of a new fund for addressing loss and damage in vulnerable developing countries. Today, I want to tell the story of how this was achieved. The demand for rich countries to shoulder their responsibility for historic pollution – which…
Negotiations going strong at COP27

As we near the end of the two weeks of intense negotiations at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (Conference of Parties – COP27) here in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, things are certainly heating up. The biggest and newest issue is that of loss and damage finance, which was finally accepted as an official…
Forget COP27, the youth should hold an ‘Accountability COP’
_{We are running out of options to ensure COP pledges are actually fulfilled}

With the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as 27th Conference of Parties (COP27), set to begin in Egypt next week, it is important to look back on the progress that has been made around the world, by government and private actors, civil society, youth and the media. Much of the pledges of…
A new coalition to address loss and damage emerges

During the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland last year, developing countries put forward a proposal to create a Finance Facility for Loss and Damage (FFLD), which was not accepted by developed countries. Instead, they replaced it by setting up the Glasgow Dialogue on Finance for Loss and Damage, which would carry…
Turning Bangladesh into a knowledge-based economy

Bangladesh is set to graduate out of the Least Developed Country (LDC) category in the next few years, and then become a developed country by 2041 while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. We have even developed the Delta Plan 2100. This will require us to transition as quickly as possible from a…
Devastating climate impacts await coastal Bangladesh

The World Bank recently published a thorough analysis of various adverse impacts of human-induced climate change that will hit the coastal districts of Bangladesh over the coming decades, increasing the frequency and severity of coastal flood events. The estimated losses amount to USD 570 million every year going forward if measures are not taken to…
Make polluters pay for loss and damage from climate change

Over the last few weeks, a number of developments around the world has brought forth the need to hold polluters responsible for the loss and damage they have been causing the planet. The latest such event is the devastating floods in Pakistan, which has been scientifically attributed to human-induced climate change. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio…
Bangladesh can be the global lab for climate solutions

Over the last 50 years, Bangladesh has been recognised in South Asia as well as around the world as a laboratory for development success in alleviating poverty, girls’ education and inclusion in the workforce, and unlocking the potential of the private sector in banking, industries and commerce, among others. This development was by no means…
Some early lessons from Pakistan floods

The ongoing devastating floods in Pakistan, which follow a deadly heat wave from just a few weeks back, is not just another flood event. They are, in fact, a manifestation of the undoubted fact that the world is already suffering the impacts of climate change and the consequent losses and damages. Even when the floodwaters…