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Can Copenhagen deliver 'hope 'for Bangladesh ?

Parvez Babul
A draft 'climate change agreement' leaked to the media in Copenhagen gives "more power to rich countries and sidelines the United Nations' role in all future climate change agreements," The Guardian reported. This must not be the case. The conference is already fraught with many misgivings and differences. It may not conclude as envisaged at the beginning.
THE Prime Minister of Denmark Mr. Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Decemeber 07, at the beginning of the climate change conference (COP 15)," Copenhagen will be 'a city of hope' for the next two weeks (December 07-18) because of climate change conference”. Dr. R.K. Pachauri, IPCC Chairman, urged the world to stand by Bangladesh. He has been able to show the world that Bangladesh is going to be a most-suffered victim of climate change. The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote in the Guardian: "Copenhagen must be a turning point. Our children won't forgive us if we fail. We need to build a low carbon economy across the world, with a deal that helps developing nations and ensures trust".
Germanwatch conclude its Global Climate Risk Index 2010 ahead of the Copenhagen climate change conference, highlighting, “In countries like Bangladesh, extreme events have become a constant danger. Just last May, millions were displaced when Cyclone Aila hit the low-lying country. Globally since 1990, more than 600,000 people have died as a direct result of extreme weather events, the sort that are expected to become increasingly common as the planet warms. Lack of substantial progress on the way to low-carbon economies is a key factor why many poor countries face a bleak future in face of more severe climate change”. It calls for an increase in financial support from wealthier countries. So, the fact of Bangladesh as a most sufferer and vulnerable country due to climate change has, hopefully, been realised worldwide.
In his annual speech, US Vice President Nobel laureate Al Gore told delegates to the most recent climate negotiating session: “We must now toughen our goal' to 350ppm". Carbon dioxide threatens total Human health in many ways. The hard fact is: though Bangladesh is not guilty any way of creating any problem of climate change, but this country and its people have to suffer the most in the world. So, such illogical sufferings must stop at any cost with the help of the developed countries, who are mostly responsible for the cause of these sufferings.
Media's role
Media can play a crucial role in communicating climate information to the public. The media in the developing world was at the forefront of reporting and bringing the issue of global climate change and its impact on the local economy into sharp focus. Nobel laureate Dr. Amartya Sen wrote: “Independent media are essential to social develop- ment and economic growth”.
President of the World Bank James D. Wolfensohn wrote an encouraging foreword in the book 'Write to tell: the role of mass media in economic development': “Over 1.2 billion people (including Bangladesh) live on less than a dollar a day. And many of those poor people not only suffer from physical and human deprivation but also lack voice in decisions that affect their lives. A key ingredient of an effective development strategy is knowledge transmission and enhanced transparency. To reduce poverty, we must liberate access to information and improve the quality of information. People with more information are empowered to make better choices”.
Nobel prize winner journalist Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his write-up titled: Journalism is the best profession of the world wrote “All that time, journalism fell into three broad categories: news, feature and editorials. All journalists, must, by definition, be research oriented; and building awareness that ethical standards cannot be a product of happenstance; like the drone of a bee, they must be the constant companion of every journalist”.
Internews Network President David Hoffman wrote: “Open media translate into transparency and government accountability, less corruption, participatory democracy, civil society and, yes, greater income”. Obviously we must look into the global media to recognise our stakeholders and partners of development. And to work through partnership with proper integration. Above all, media is an inseparable medium to get and disseminate information, update ourselves and save our valuable lives. Bridging the gap and creating network of journalists of the world could be very helpful for sharing information on climate change and other issues.
There is also a need to build
bridges between scientists and journalists. Scientists are often unwilling to simplify their research findings for a lay audience, so journalists may sharpen their skills to simplify jargon-heavy scientific content and make the matter easier to understand. We also need to build bridges between North, East, West and South (NEWS) environmental and science journalists so that we can exchange ideas and information on global climate change.
A draft 'climate change agreement' leaked to the media in Copenhagen gives "more power to rich countries and sidelines the United Nations' role in ail future climate change agreements," The Guardian reported. This must not be the case. The conference is already fraught with many misgivings and differences. It may not conclude as envisaged at the beginning. Yet the participating parties must be hoping against hope for a conclusion that matters most to the vulnerable.
Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The Copenhagen Agreement: A Shared Vision for Long-Term Cooperative Action' mentions: “...The Parties underline that climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time and commit to a vigorous response through immediate ambitious national action and strengthened international cooperation with a view to limiting global average temperature rise to a maximum of 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The Parties are convinced of the need to address climate change bearing in mind that social and economic development and poverty eradication are the first and overriding priorities in developing countries...". Let it be so. We in Bangladesh look forward to the logical requirement we deserve.
Parvez Babul is convener of Bangladesh climate change journalists' forum Email parvezbabul@gmarl.com