Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmood said Bangladesh will continue to work through international and regional cooperation to tackle various environmental challenges, including climate change and biodiversity loss, by using innovative green technology and renewable energy.
“Climate change has emerged as the single biggest threat to sustainable development. Extreme temperatures, erratic rainfall, floods and droughts, intense tropical cyclones, sea level rise, ocean acidification and the like are causing serious negative impacts, especially on the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region. But,” he said.
The minister said this while speaking at a round table discussion titled ‘Green Opportunities and Global Challenges’ organized at the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday afternoon.
Several countries from the European Union and the Indo-Pacific region, including Estonia, Maldives, Denmark and the European Commission, participated in the discussion.
Hasan Mahmood said, “Bangladesh, as a coastal country of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean rim, ranks 7thth It is one of the most vulnerable countries and is an innocent victim of climate change, although it contributes less than 0.47 percent of global emissions.
Highlighting the various programs taken up by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government to overcome the situation, Hasan Mahmood said that since 2010, Bangladesh has been able to access US$480 million in funding from its own resource-based Bangladesh Climate Trust Fund. With around 800 projects being implemented.
He also informed that the Government of Bangladesh is working to ensure maximum use of renewable energy under the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan (MCPP) 2022-2041.
He said, “At COP 26, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her desire to get 40 per cent of our energy from renewable sources. We have had the remarkable success of electrifying over 20 million people by installing over 6 million solar-home systems – the largest of its kind in the world.
“We are convinced that European countries are global leaders in renewable energy innovation and implementation. Bangladesh has responded positively to the invitation to join the EU’s Green Partnership,” the information minister said.
He said Bangladesh as well as other climate change vulnerable countries look forward to technical and financial cooperation and investment from developed countries.
Hasan also told the roundtable that Bangladesh prefers to work closely with the European Union and other Indo-Pacific countries to unlock the US$100 billion promised by developed countries, with a balance between adaptation and mitigation. For the initial operation of the Loss and Damage Fund. ,
After attending the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum, Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmood held a meeting with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström on Sunday and discussed various bilateral issues.
During the meeting, they discussed issues such as cooperation in the field of energy generation from waste, green energy generation from other sources, high tech industry and cooperation in the ICT sector. They also discussed climate issues and mutual assistance in this area.
Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Sweden Mehedi Hasan was present at the round table discussion and bilateral talks.