Category: Daily Star Article
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Bangladesh takes another step towards tackling global climate change
During July last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina hosted the Global Commission on Adaptation meeting in Dhaka attended by the co-chairs of the Commission, former Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon and Kristalina Georgiva, head of the International Monetary Fund. During the bilateral discussion between the Prime Minister and Ban Ki-moon, she offered…
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We need a paradigm shift to deal with loss and damage from climate change
In the international negotiations on climate change impacts under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the issue of loss and damage has always been a politically sensitive topic—it brings up issues of liability and compensation, which many developed countries regard as taboo topics. Nevertheless, after much concerted effort from the most vulnerable…
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Four lessons from Covid-19 pandemic for tackling climate change
The global Covid-19 pandemic is now just over half a year old and arguably still in its early stages. However, there are already a few key lessons that are emerging when evaluating the responses of different countries to this public health emergency, which are relevant for tackling the much longer-term and much bigger emergency of…
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A ten year journey to achieve resilience to climate change
In January 2021, the International Centre for Climate Change and Development at the Independent University, Bangladesh will be holding the 7th annual Gobeshona conference with an overall theme of starting a ten year journey to promote locally led adaptation towards resilience in Bangladesh, as well as in other vulnerable developing countries, including the Least Developed…
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Worsening floods linked to human induced climate change
As Bangladesh is inundated by severe floods not long after being hit by super cyclone Amphan, we are seeing the adverse impacts of human induced climate change in reality. It is therefore time to deal with this loss and damage from climate change more seriously, both at home as well as internationally. At the international…
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Crafting image in an age of electronic globalisation
Recently, quite a number of reports have been published in both national and foreign media outlets about how two healthcare providers in Bangladesh issued fake Covid-19 certificates. Obviously, the negative coverage has tarnished the image of our nation abroad. We have had reports that the foreign minister had chaired a high-level, inter-ministerial meeting to discuss…
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We must listen to the voices from the frontlines of the pandemic
One of the distinguishing features of the global Covid-19 pandemic has been to expose who the frontline workers around the world are and who the frontline victims of the pandemic are, both from the public health perspective and as a result of the impact of lockdown measures. In the developed countries, it has been the…
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Climate Change: Turning Bangladesh into the learning capital of the world
The adverse impacts of human induced climate change are already occurring around the world, including in Bangladesh. It is incumbent on all countries to gear up their ability to be better prepared for the impacts before they occur through enhancing adaptive capacity, and to also be prepared to deal with the loss and damage after…
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Collaborative research can be integral to climate action
The government of the United Kingdom has had a very cordial relationship with Bangladesh since our independence and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has been a significant bilateral development partner for many years. DFID is currently in the process of designing a new, major five-year programme to support Bangladesh’s efforts to tackle climate…
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Climate change budget must be used efficiently
Other vulnerable countries can learn from Bangladesh’s innovations
Earlier this month, the Finance Minister of Bangladesh presented a special Climate Change Budget as part of the national budget for the fiscal year 2020-21, which accounts for approximately 7.5 percent of the national budget. This is the fourth year in succession that the Climate Change Budget has been included to cover 25 different ministries…
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Bangladesh can share crucial knowledge on locally led adaptation
Last week, Bangladesh formally took over the leadership of the group of nearly 50 countries in the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) for the next two years. The governance of the CVF is through a Troika system, with the current chair and the two previous chairs making collective decisions. Thus, the Minister of Marshall Islands as…
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Loss and damage from natural disasters made worse by climate change
Bangladesh can lead the way in discussing reparations at climate conferences
As Bangladesh assumes the leadership of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) for the next two years, including at the next Conference of Parties (COP26) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021, there is an opportunity for Bangladesh to push for the issue of loss and damage from climate change to be made a…