Bangladesh urges developed nations to honour climate commitments

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury on Tuesday underscored the imperative for developed nations to deliver on their climate commitments.

Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, minister Chowdhury emphasised the need for fostering global solidarity and trust so that the momentum created through the UAE Consensus during COP28 can be built upon and solidified.

He highlighted the commitments made at the previous COPs thus far relating to emission cuts, means of implementation, and adaptation finance, which have all remained unfulfilled, according to a statement from the ministry.

Speaking at the Summit, the minister observed that behind terms like ‘adaptation gap’ and ‘financing gap’ lies the fundamental ‘trust gap.’

He called for concerted efforts to bridge this trust deficit, asserting that COP 28 prioritised building global trust and solidarity.

In pursuit of this goal and as the world prepares for COP29 in Baku later this year, minister Chowdhury advocated for a scaled up and equitable distribution of funds for adaptation and addressing loss and damage.

All actions must be aligned to science and the absolute imperative of capping temperature increase to 1.5C, he said.

“We must solve the problem of climate change faster than we are creating it,"  Chowdhury asserted.

Ministers, climate experts, and government high officials from different countries around the world were present on the occasion.

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