Spend less on defence, more on climate crisis
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen yesterday urged developed countries to divert five to 10 percent of their defence expenditure to initiatives for stopping climate-induced displacement. The minister said each year, 6,50,000 people are uprooted from their homes in Bangladesh. He made the remarks in a policy dialogue organised by International Organization for Migration (IMO) on "Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change: Towards a Common Narrative and Action Pathway", held in the capital. "I raised the issue at Munich security conference. The world order will break down if we don't act on this now," said Momen. "In my home-town Sylhet, you will see that five out of 10 people working as rickshaw-pullers came from coastal areas. Around 40 percent of the coastal population took refuge in Sylhet, after becoming victims of climate-induced displacement," he added. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chair of the standing committee for environment, forest and climate change ministry, said, "It is high time we moved from dialogue to action." Climate expert Prof Saleemul Haq said they would request IPCC (Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change) to conduct thorough research on internal displacement in Bangladesh. Caroline Dumas, special envoy for migration and climate action at IOM, and Golam Rabbani, head of Climate Bridge Fund Secretariat, shared a detailed overview of human mobility in the context of climate change.
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.