Bangladesh will amplify voices of most vulnerable countries at COP26: FM

As Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) chair, Bangladesh will amplify the voices of the most vulnerable countries at the COP26 at the CVF-COP26 Leaders' Summit on the sidelines of COP26 and forge an ambitious Dhaka-Glasgow CVF-COP26 Climate Declaration, said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.

The minister said this at the 4^th CVF-COP26 Dialogue in London organised by Bangladesh High Commission, London, in partnership with the CVF Secretariat on 30 September.

Foreign Minister Dr Momen joined the dialogue virtually from Washington DC as the Chief Guest while prominent global climate leaders and eminent climate experts including former British Prime Minister David Cameron; CVF Thematic Ambassador on Ambition and former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed; the UK's Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Edward Miliband;  Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland; and Chair of the CVF Expert Advisory Group Prof Dr Saleemul Huq, participated in the dialogue as the co-panellists.

The foreign minister said: "A Climate Emergency Pact should also be established between the UK's COP26 presidency and CVF members in Glasgow to effectively support those nations most in need."

Dr Momen commended Prime Minister Boris Johnson for UK's proactive leadership as COP26 host in Glasgow next month and called for closing the major emission and financing gaps at COP26 for capping temperatures at 1.5 degrees.

David Cameron in his speech said, "Bangladesh as the CVF Presidency should make a powerful statement at the COP26 to ensure that world leaders take heed of the extreme climatic vulnerabilities of the 48 CVF countries contributing less than 5% of global emissions".

Maldives former President Mohamed Nasheed in his speech came with the strong opinion that climate-vulnerable countries should be provided with fresh financing under the loss and damage initiative in order to avoid falling into debt due to climate-related loss and the impact of Covid on the economy.

He suggested decolonising climate dialogue to give all parties a fair chance.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK, Saida Muna Tasneem provided an overview of the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan, stating, "The Mujib plan is an ambitious road map of actions being taken by the CVF President Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to promote the concept of climate prosperity by making strategic investments in building resilience and a low-carbon sustainable and prosperous development pathway.'' The High Commissioner hoped that at the COP26 many more CVF countries would come up with climate prosperity plans which need sustained green financing from richer countries.

Edward Miliband stressed the urgency of developed nations' obligations towards the developing world, especially to provide funding under the 100 billion dollars promised in Copenhagen to assist vulnerable countries in addressing climate-related losses and damages.

Commonwealth SG Patricia Scotland reaffirmed Commonwealth's commitment to helping its members confront climate challenges in a coordinated way. She said that climate efforts, unlike vaccine nationalism, should be a global initiative to save the planet for future generations.

The dialogue was attended by CVF High Commissioners, Ambassadors and climate experts