Says foreign minister at event marking Environment Day

Bss, Dhaka

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen yesterday said Bangladesh needs to build embankments with renewable energy facilities along the coastal belt as part of “climate mitigation” to save its people from becoming climate migrants due to the rising sea level.

“To protect our people from getting inundated by the rising sea level and river erosion, and from becoming climate migrants, we need to create embankments high and wide enough to sustain in times of natural disasters,” he said.

Dr Momen said mangrove forestation around these embankments would work both as buffers during natural calamities like cyclones and surges, while also working as carbon sinks.

“We can also use the space on the embankments for installing solar panels and wind turbines to produce electricity for the nearby off-grid areas, and the national grid,” he said.

The foreign minister made the remarks while virtually inaugurating a two-day “Climate Camp 2021” organised by a local non-government organisation named Earth Society, marking World Environment Day.