Bangladesh, which has witnessed a large number of natural disasters and calamities in the last two decades, has said it still has “hopes” in COP not withstanding the slow pace at which negotiations are taking place in the ongoing COP18/CMP8 conclave in Doha.
Speaking at a session yesterday, Bangladesh Minister for Environment and Forests Hassan Mehmoud said even though very little progress in deliberations has been made, he hoped that the meeting could still come out with an outcome that is acceptable to most participating countries.
The minister said that the deliberations in Doha are more or less on the same lines as one saw in Copenhagen and Durban.
“It is true that expectations are not that high as were seen in some of the earlier meetings. What is however more important to understand is that there is an awakening in the global community about the whole issue of climate change and people all over have started realising the urgency of the situation and are keen on finding out an effective solution unlike what it used to be a few years ago,” said the minister.
Though the ad hoc working group on the Kyoto Protocol was supposed to be completed yesterday, there were some divergences in some key elements of the proposed amendments by various parties.
“We feel that we need to see as to which elements of the Bali Action Plan have been completely addressed to and which other elements required to be addressed further,” Mehmoud said, adding that COP18 would take necessary decisions on how subsidiary bodies and the Durban Action Plan (ADP) could carry forward the unfinished tasks
effectively.
While calling upon COP18 to ensure sustained flow of resources for mid and long term basis, Mehmoud said Bangladesh has wholeheartedly supported the proposal for mobilising $60bn for meeting the commitments for the next three years.
Terming that the loss and damage of the impacts of the climate change is critical for his country, the minister urged the forum to establish a separate international mechanism, which could help manage disaster risk reduction, compensation for victims of natural disasters and
rehabilitation.