Strong international assistance needed to deal with climate risks, develop small islands: FM

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has called for strong international assistance in dealing with the risks of climate change and for developing small island countries.

He made this call on the second day of the "4th Small Island Developing States Conference-SIDS4" organised by the United Nations at St John's, the capital of the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda yesterday (28 May) afternoon.

In the SIDS Plenary at the main auditorium of the American University of Antigua in St John's, Hasan highlighted the personal commitment of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the spokesperson of less developed countries and the role of Bangladesh in the development of small island countries.

He said, serving as the president of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) for two terms Bangladesh has focused on addressing the challenges of climate change, sea level rise, ocean acidification and extreme weather.

Foreign Minister Hasan said there is an urgent need to bring the advanced economies with high carbon emissions under accountability commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are harmful to the environment.

"And to that end, it is important for UN members to focus on implementing climate finance commitments after 2025 and increasing climate risk adaptation capacity at the upcoming World Climate Conference COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan," he said.