Ensure climate financing, Momen urges global leadership

Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen has urged the global leadership to help forge international partnerships to ensure financing and technologies for climate vulnerable countries like Bangladesh.

He said this at a panel discussion on tackling the climate crisis at the Munich Security Conference that started on Friday, a foreign ministry press release said on Saturday.

The climate change was identified as the top security risk among people in a poll for the Munich Security Index-2022.

The Bangladesh foreign minister echoed the view that climate change posed a security challenge and drew attention to the possible consequences to be created by climate-induced displacements in different parts of the world.

Dr. Momen added that most countries on the frontline of climate change had an insignificant share in carbon emission, yet suffered due to the global pollution caused by most G-20 countries.

He said that the international community must work hard this year to realize the Paris Climate Conference commitment on USD 100 billion to be realized for climate action annually.

Dr. Momen was joined by John Kerry, Climate Envoy of the US President, Franziska Brantner, State Secretary at the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of UAE on the panel.

The panel was moderated by Zanny Beddeos, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist as Professor Dr. Johan Rockström, Director of the Postdam Institute of Climate Impact Research was present.

The speakers identified climate change as an existential threat while they expressed concerns over the current geopolitical tensions around Ukraine for its possible impact on energy security, leading to diversion of global attention from the climate crisis.

They underscored the importance of accelerating climate action from now on with respect for science, informed dialogue and pragmatism involving both the public and private sectors.

About the possible way out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh foreign minister reiterated the call for considering vaccines to be ‘global public goods’ and ensuring vaccine equity around the world.

In the presence of his counterparts from Canada and Sweden and Bill Gates on the panel, he stressed the need for transferring the technological know-how to developing countries like Bangladesh for vaccine production.

The three-day Munich Security Conference kicked off on Friday in the Southern German city with the participation of the global leaders from both public and private sectors.

Along with Foreign Minister Dr. A K Abdul Momen, Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Principal Staff Officer, Armed Forces Division is also joining the conference from Bangladesh this year.

At the end of the day, Dr. Momen addressed a community meeting organized under the banner of Bayern Awami League.

Ambassador of Bangladesh to Germany Md. Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, among others, was present.

BSS/MMA/