STAFF CORRESPONDENT

The UK has conferred the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) honour on Bangladesh’s climate expert Prof Saleemul Huq for his contributions to combating climate change and building climate expertise in Bangladesh, the UK, and around the globe.

Prof Huq has dedicated his professional life to helping developing countries and vulnerable communities adapt to the impacts of climate change. His scientific research, at leading universities and centres of excellence in the UK and in Bangladesh, has helped frame international policy on climate change for over 35 years, said a press release.

In Bangladesh, Prof Huq has been a leading author of the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan. He also contributed to devising the Nationally Determined Contribution and National Action Plan on Adaptation.

Accepting his OBE, Prof Huq said, “It is a great honour and pleasure for me to receive the OBE. As a dual Bangladeshi and British citizen, I have been working for two decades to enhance collaboration between the universities and researchers in both countries to tackle the twin global challenges of poverty eradication and dealing with climate change.”

Robert Chatterton Dickson, British high commissioner to Bangladesh, said, “I am delighted that Prof Huq has been recognised with one of the UK’s most prestigious honours. With his passion, eloquence, and commitment to an all-of-society approach, Prof Huq has deservedly become one of the most trusted and respected global commentators on the climate crisis. He also symbolises the very strong intellectual and people-to-people links between the UK and Bangladesh.”

Prof Huq is the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and is a professor at the Independent University Bangladesh. He is also chair of the Expert Advisory Group for the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) and Senior Adviser on Locally Led Adaptation with Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) headquartered in the Netherlands.