NEW YORK : A country of fertile, densely populated deltas, low-lying Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable nations in the world to climate change.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the urgency of the situation is not being matched by the actions of countries responsible for emissions.
They don't act. She told AFP that they can talk but they don't act on a visit to New York for the UN General Assembly.
This is their responsibility to the rich countries, the developed countries. They should come forward. We are not getting a lot of response from them. She said that was the tragedy.
I know the rich countries, but they want to become rich and rich. Bangladesh has produced a miniscule amount of greenhouse gas emissions that have already contributed to the warming of the planet by an average of nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
By 2020 the Paris accord calls for $100 billion from wealthy nations to help developing nations cope with climate change. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development figures, US $83.3 billion was committed that year.
One of the main issues facing the UN climate summit in November is whether wealthy nations need to pay for losses and damages from climate change, not just to pay for adaptation and mitigation.
We want that fund raised. Hasina said that we didn't get a good response from the developed countries.
They should come forward because they are the ones who are responsible for these damages, the 74-year-old said.
Wealthy nations have agreed to talk about the loss and damage issue through 2024.
The General Assembly this year called for climate justice. The leader of tiny Vanuatu urged an international treaty against fossil fuels, while the prime minister of Pakistan warned that floods that have swamped one-third of his country could happen elsewhere.