Global Warming
Bangladesh case
God has given a beautiful planet to the people to live in, but their misdeeds over a few past decades have made it unsafe for them. What a paradox! Yes, the scourge of human induced climate change is there. As Cancun conference under United Nations framework convention on climate change has indicated (held from 26 November to December 10), it had encompassed 83 sessions. In addition, four international conferences also took place on climate change, but no remedial measures are in sight as taken either by the industrialised countries or by the developing countries. By now population is continuing to grow by leaf and bounds. Only assurances have heaped. This being the scenario a seminar was organized on “Save our planet earth from global warming and climate change” with particular emphasis on Bangladesh at Bangladesh embassy in Washington DC on December 14.Under the chairmanship of Ambassador Akramul Qader. It was participated by Greg Vitali, House Representative from Pennsylvania, Jonathan Porter, Policy Director to US congressman Joseph Sestak, Jim Dougherty, Executive Secretary and environmental lawyer from DC chapter of Sierra Club, Robert Shapiro, Chairman, Sonecon and former Under secretary of department of Commerce, Abu Amin Rahman, Scientist from Merck and company, Pennsylvania, and Muhammad A. Azim, Revenue analyst, Department of Revenue of Pennsylvania. The key note speaker was Lance Simmens, Special Assistant to Governor of Pennsylvania on Intergovernmental affairs, who was Climate messenger of former Vice-President Al-Gore. Simmens gave a very powerful graphic power point presentation on the gradual degradation of environment which led to global warming. Ambassador Akramul Qader pointed out that Bangladesh has adopted a national programme of action and climate change strategy. This includes reducing modest emissions level (0.3 percent metric ton per capita). The ambassador said the government of Bangladesh has set aside a $ 200 million climate change resilience fund and a multi-donor trust fund. Bangladesh wants to establish an international climate adaptation center for track record to effectively fight climate change. It may be recalled that Bangladesh has been ranked by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) as the most vulnerable county to floods, third most to tsunami, and sixth most to cyclones. The UN intergovernmental panel on climate change estimates that one meter rise in sea level could place 17 percent of Bangladesh population under water by 2050. This means 20 million people would become environmental refugees, and 40 million more will lose their livelihood by 2050. Scientific estimates place a billion people would be displaced all over the world by 2050 as a result of climate change. It is from this perspective that Bangladesh has been consistently demanding for adoption of a new legal regime to ensure rehabilitation of climate refugees. Lance Simmence also gave a graphic picture of vulnerability of Bangladesh as a result of global warming. He was of the opinion that deforestation in India and Bangladesh also contribute to the climate change. Consensus opinion of the panelists was that there was lack of political will in the western countries to address the global warming and adopt mandatory measures to mitigate the problem. Simmence commented that the United States and China should take lead in mobilizing the opinion of the danger that the planet is facing because of climate change and global warming. After the seminar Lance Simmence confided to this writer that despite holding of international conferences by the United Nations on climate change, no effective measures were forthcoming from industrialized countries who are held responsible for climate hazards because they are held hostage at the hands of interest groups. Simmense, however, said that Obama administration seems to be on the right track on tackling the monumental environmental crisis. In response to a query from the audience Simmense said if Bangladesh is affected by global warming, other countries would also be affected directly or indirectly. Therefore, global initiative needs to be geared up to protect the projected countries. Although the conferences since 1992 have generated hope that world leaders understand the consequences of devastating effect of climate change, but the hope that generated at Earth summit in 1992 or at Johannesburg in 2003 are fading. Today's planet earth would have already been a safer place if recommendations were implemented by now. A movement on global warming and climate change now seems imperative because of negligence made by industrialized countries to mitigate the crisis.
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