LONDON (CU)_The United Kingdom and Bangladesh reaffirmed their commitment to enhance cooperation in order to tackle the adverse effects of climate change. During COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma’s visit to the South Asian nation on Wednesday (2 June), the two countries agreed to facilitate partnerships to exchange expertise, share technology and discover practical solutions to tackle this global crisis.
During his visit, Sharma met with Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdul Momen, and the COP26 President-Designate welcomed Dhaka’s plans to transition away from coal to clean and renewable energy, as he underlined the importance of countries having their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) aligned with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. He also commended Bangladesh’s efforts to proactively voice the extreme climate risks and existential treats faced by some of the most climate vulnerable countries, through the Climate Vulnerable Forum.
During the meeting, Momen emphasised the need to secure commitments from the most developed economies, particularly the G20, to curb global greenhouse gas emissions substantially, and to secure maximal climate finance, particularly for the purpose of adopting low-carbon technology, in order to limit global warming well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C. The Foreign Minister also commended the United Kingdom’s UK’s dynamic leadership of UN Climate talks (COP26), and the country’s special focus on mitigation, adaptation and resilience of climate change, and encouraging climate financing and international cooperation. He praised the European nation for being the first major economy to declare net-zero emissions by mid-century.
According to a statement issued by the Cabinet Office of the UK, London and Dhaka agreed to accelerate efforts to avert, minimise, and address Loss and Damage caused by climate change, by drawing on the expertise in both countries as well as other nations across the globe. “As founding members of the Adaptation Action Coalition, Bangladesh and the UK renewed their commitment to work together with other Coalition members to accelerate adaptation on the ground with a particular emphasis on promoting locally led climate action,” the statement read.
