Achieving COP-26 in Tackling Climate Impact

The International Climate Conference (COP-26) is over. Now it is the turn of expectation and reckoning. Expectations were higher than receipts. But it is everyone's expectation that what the world has got will be implemented properly and the promise will be kept. At the COP-26 summit, rich countries reaffirmed their commitment to provide 100 billion a year to tackle the effects of climate change. However, according to the Paris Agreement, this promise was supposed to be fulfilled by 2020, but now it has been extended to 2023. It is better to keep the promise even in that time. But it remains to be seen what stage the global catastrophe will come down to. And that too will be settled in 2022 and 2023 in Egypt and UAE that means the next climate conference COP-27 and COP-28 will be held there.

The IPCC says the effects of climate change will require trillions of dollars to deal with one disaster after another, such as floods, cyclones, droughts and fires. Suffering countries are skeptical of the 100 billion pledges there. After many calculations, a draft of 4,000 pages has been prepared from the COP-26 conference. In this report, all previous calculations have been changed. This means that the amount of cost that was conceived is not enough to adapt to climate change.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, 196 countries agreed to limit global temperatures to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius from the pre-industrial era. Already that temperature has risen by 1.1 degrees. Due to this, various disasters including floods, tidal surges, cyclones and fires have increased abnormally worldwide. According to climate scientists, half of the world's population will be at risk of climate change by 2030, which has now risen to 43 percent. The current damage to climate change resources will double in 2030.

At the COP-26 summit, the United Nations fears that temperatures could reach 2.8 degrees Celsius, even if several countries talk of reducing carbon emissions. The IPCC has also issued a warning about this temperature rise. They say rising temperatures mean rising costs to protect people from its harmful effects. By 2050, that cost could be as high as 1 trillion a year. And if the temperature rises to 2 degrees Celsius, it is estimated that billions of dollars will be spent every year in Africa alone.

At the conference, the United States and China jointly announced that they would work together to protect the environment. A number of agreements have been signed at the conference, including the declaration of deforestation by 2030 and the declaration of carbon neutrality of different countries by 2050. The new draft agreement calls on world leaders to take urgent action to tackle climate change. The plan calls for countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions faster than ever before.

The new draft agreement calls on rich countries to increase funding to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and to help weaker countries cope with the climate crisis. Rich countries are urged to cooperate more with poor countries in tackling the climate crisis. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius at the climate conference has now moved to "life support". According to the new draft agreement, carbon emissions must be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 in order to achieve that goal of limiting temperatures. And by 2050 emissions will have to be brought to zero percent.

The rich countries have not made any clear commitment to tackle climate change. Many claim that there is no roadmap for the 100 billion pledged to the affected countries to address climate change proposals. Even if promises are met, rich countries do not keep their promises. The Paris Agreement of 2015 is proof of that. Many of the richest industrialized nations do not comply with the 1992 UN Climate Charter.

The conference also failed to address how carbon emissions can be kept at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Developed countries have pledged 413 million in new funding for the most vulnerable countries. One of the top goals of the conference was to improve adaptation. Use funds for the development of government, beneficiaries and supporters. This adaptation fund has attracted about 40,000 participants. At the conference, the transport sector was blamed for 24 percent of global carbon emissions. And for this reason, the issue of greening in transport is also being strongly discussed.

Although Bangladesh is affected, it is playing a significant role in countering the effects of climate. In its continuation, at the COP-26 conference, Bangladesh has outlined a number of practical steps, including climate compensation, to reduce global warming. Among them are: Bangladesh cancels construction of 10 coal-fired power plants at12 billion with foreign investment, calls on world leaders to pledge 100 billion annually to tackle climate damage. And to implement them, rich nations are urged to meet their previous commitments of100 billion annually on climate adaptation and mitigation half-way (50:50). Displaced migrants are also asked to take responsibility.

Bangladesh's Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan is a role model for the world in tackling the risks of climate change. The government is implementing the action plan with its own funds and has undertaken 69 projects at a cost of 443 million from the Climate Change Trust Fund. The World Bank and development partners could come forward to help increase the use of solar panels in agriculture. The use of solar panels has increased in the country and abroad as a climate-friendly, cost-effective and environmentally friendly fuel instead of diesel-powered pumps for agricultural irrigation. Diesel-powered sprinklers emit large amounts of carbon. By 2041, 40 percent of Bangladesh's energy is expected to come from renewable sources.

Using solar powered or solar irrigation pumps instead of diesel will on the one hand reduce carbon emissions, protect the environment, save huge amount of foreign exchange and save a lot of money that farmers spend on buying diesel and the occasional loss of pumps. The economic use of solar irrigation will be ensured as it will be usable for 20 years continuously.

Referring to Bangladesh's proposal to set up a 'South-South Knowledge and Innovation Center' in 2019, the Prime Minister said, "It will serve as a platform for creating technological solutions to the development challenges in the South." The government of Bangladesh is working on the development of climate change tolerant crop varieties on a priority basis to address the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture.

At present a national adaptation plan has been prepared in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is implementing the 'Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan' to move the country from a climate-endangered country to a climate-tolerant and prosperous climate. This is a positive aspect that is a role model for the outside world.


Dr M Jamal Uddin is a Agricultural Economist and Senior Scientist, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI)