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Ensure $100b for developing
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billion a year are available to developing countries for mitigation, adaptation and disaster response and recovery,” she told the event titled “Midnight Survival Deadline for the Climate” while presiding over it as the current Chair of Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).
In this connection, the prime minister put forth four-point proposal to save the planet from the adverse impact of the climate change through “robust international partnership”.
“Strict implementation of the Paris Agreement is the only way to slow down the current rate of damage caused by climate change,” she said in her first proposal.
In the second proposal, she said the governments should not only honour their national contributions under the Paris Agreement, they also need to substantially increase their ambitions. “The idea of climate justice must be established for the sake of climate and the planet,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina in her third proposal said that more vigorous provision of finance must be ensured by the major economies, Multilateral Development Bank (MDBs), and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) along with access to technology.
“Take bold actions to address and mainstream the issue of loss and damage,” she said in her fourth proposal.
Stressing the need for prompt actions to address the climate change issue, the premier said, “In our war against nature, we will only lose. All our measures manifest that we are consciously destroying the very support systems that are keeping us alive. So, the time to take action to save the planet is not tomorrow, but today.”
Sheikh Hasina said, “Today we are at the most important crossroad of human history facing the gravest global challenges of our time. Adverse impacts of climate change are harming our civilization, destroying our planet and threatening our very existence.”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) Chair Ban Ki-moon, and heads of state and government of the CVF countries joined the event.
Sheikh Hasina said, “We, the CVF leaders and our partners, call everyone to take urgent and strong global actions to address climate emergency before the 2020 NDC Enhancement deadline.”
Mentioning that Bangladesh is honoured to be chosen to lead the Climate Vulnerable Forum for the second time, she said that the CVF represents over one billion people of the world’s most vulnerable countries.
She also said that the CVF countries suffer the most despite their insignificant contribution to the global carbon emission.
The premier said, “As president, our focus would be galvanizing support for the goal to keep the global temperature-increase up to 1.5 degrees, accelerating financing mechanisms and highlighting the narratives of climate resilience, and ‘loss and damage’ issue.”
She went on saying, “We will also put emphasis on appointing a UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and creating a CVF and V20 Joint Multi-Donor Fund.”
The premier said that Bangladesh launched the South Asian regional office for Global Center of Adaptation in Dhaka on September 8.
“It’ll act as the Secretariat for Bangladesh presidency and facilitate, support and develop appropriate actions in South Asia to enhance climate resiliency in the region,” she said.

UN refugee chief tests positive for Covid-19
Afp, Geneva
The UN refugee chief said Wednesday that he had tested positive for Covid-19, after leading the first two days of the agency’s main annual meeting in person.
Filippo Grandi, who kicked off UNHCR’s week-long Executive Committee meeting in Geneva Monday, told participants via video-link that he would need to continue following the event from home.
“I am engaging with UNHCR’s Executive Committee from home as I have to isolate after testing positive to #COVID19,” he said in a tweet.
“I only have mild symptoms and hope to recover soon,” he added.
Grandi had for the past two days addressed delegates from the podium in the UN Assembly Hall in Geneva.
UNHCR’s executive committee is for the first time being held as a hybrid event this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Only limited numbers of delegates are allowed to attend physically, and distancing restrictions and mask requirements are in place.