PROMOTING AN ALL-WIN SITUATION

UNGA will support climate change action Quamrul Islam Chowdhury in New York

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) concluded in New York on February 14 after a three–day high-level debate aimed at gaining the support from all parts of society to address climate change with a call that the it should remain engaged in supporting the United Nations-led negotiations on climate change and in promoting effective coordination by the United Nations on the issue.
   Closing the debate, UNGA President Srgjan Kerim said the Assembly would convene two additional meetings this year that will focus on the needs and concerns of vulnerable countries and on corporate responsibility and sustainability.
   The General Assembly debate was extended by a full day to accommodate the 115 speakers, including 19 ministers and 7 vice-ministers, representing 107 countries. At UNGA thematic debate Bangladesh delegation was led by environment secretary AHM Rezaul Kabir and consisting of Bangladesh Permanent Representative to UN Ismat Jahan and FEJB Chairman Quamrul Islam Chowdhury.
   The debate focused on how to involve people from the private sector, business, academia and science in a sustained effort to address climate change. The UNGA debate attracted a significant number of high-profile personalities, including Richard Branson, CEO and founder of the Virgin Group, the actor Daryl Hannah and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
   “There is a general conviction that has emerged from this debate,” Kerim said, “that the actions necessary to address climate change are so intertwined that they can only be tackled through combined efforts.”
   Countries strongly supported the decisions reached at the Climate Change Convention in Bali in December. The Bali road map calls for the launch of negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change towards a new agreement and for immediate action on a number of issues, including adaptation, reducing emissions from deforestation and assistance on new technologies. The first of four rounds of negotiations on a new agreement will begin in Bangkok from 30 March to 4 April.
   Kerim said that long-term targets to reduce carbon emission must go hand in hand with adapting to the global warming that is already taking place and which could accelerate. “We want more growth, more development, but must also secure our planet and safeguard our future.”
   Climate change, he said, is a major threat to long-term prosperity as many Member States emphasised during the General Assembly’s Thematic Debate over the last three days.
   Addressing this challenge is central to ensuring sustainable economic development and poverty reduction, but its policy implications also embrace issues of equity, ethics, human rights and security, the UNGA president pointed out adding, low income countries are most vulnerable, and the extreme poor will be most severely affected.
   Scholars predict that 50 million people worldwide will be displaced by 2010 because of rising sea levels, desertification, dried up aquifers, weather-induced flooding and other serious environmental changes.
   The financing for development process therefore has a special responsibility to support those countries most affected to adapt to climate change; and, to create incentives for investment in climate-friendly energy production, energy efficiency and new technologies to ensure that all the Millennium Development Goals are met - not at the cost of economic growth, but to achieve it, Kerim said.
   UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, addressing the twin challenges of inclusive and sustainable globalisation and global warming will require an unprecedented degree of international cooperation and goodwill and hoped that Doha delivers fresh hope for the ‘bottom billion’.
   They also emphasised that international and regional organisations, in particular the World Bank and IMF, also have a special responsibly to address the development needs and ambitions of Middle Income Countries as well.
   In light of the long-term challenges to the Financing for Development process, these institutions should reassess their strategies and develop new instruments and policies to support the mobilisation of domestic resources for development in these countries.
   Many countries, both developing and developed, emphasised the need for accelerating the technological know-how necessary to build and maintain low-carbon economies that will also allow the economic growth that is necessary to eliminate poverty. Many States also called on the United Nations to help stimulate new financial investments that would be needed for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and for adapting to the impacts of climate change.
   Delegates from different countries described climate change as a global challenge and called for global actions. Almost all delegates said, responsibilities are common, but they are also differentiated and each and every country should be committed “to pursue nationally appropriate actions on mitigation of climate change that are measurable, reportable and verifiable” as put in Bali Action Plan according to each country’s fair share and respective capabilities.
   They also pointed out that UN system can play an instrumental role in assisting nations’ efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change ensuring national ownership under the guidance of member states taking into account UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol decisions.
   Participating at the high-level debate leader of Bangladesh delegation Rezaul Kabir called for immediate international support to build resilience of least developed countries (LDCs) to combat global warming and climate change and said, the report of UN Secretary General has very aptly recognized that LDCs are bearing the burnt of increased climate variability and unpredictable and severe weather events like floods, cyclones, and droughts.
   Thematic debate
   Making a statement on behalf of LDCs at UN Ministerial high-level thematic debate on climate change at UN General Assembly, he said, LDCs commends the UNGA president for convening this thematic debate, which has special significance, as nations embark on the negotiations for a global agreement under Ad-Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action.
   “We consider that UNFCCC is the central multilateral structure within which the negotiation on climate change should take place. We believe, the thematic debate will contribute to generate significant political momentum which can support the ongoing negotiations under UNFCCC,” he told the ministerial plenary debate.
   He called for bearing in mind that the agreement must be scientifically valid, environmentally sound, economically feasible and fair, particularly for the LDCs, which are facing serious structural impediments. They do not have necessary resources to meet the adaptation needs.
   Bali Action Plan, the environment secretary Rezaul said, has heightened our hope for a comprehensive global agreement by 2009 and all must work hard to complete the framework within the stipulated time-frame. The most important issue for all is to agree on the stabilization target within the framework of Bali Action Plan. To achieve that we have to reduce our emission by 50 per cent compared to our present emission by 2050, he said, failing to achieve this target would mean unbearable consequences for the developing countries especially the most vulnerable LDCs.
   Climate change, he said, magnifies the possibility of increased extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones, tornados, droughts and desertification. International support for adaptation must take into account infrastructural needs of affected countries, particularly in disaster management, agriculture, water resources, and coastal zone management.
   The post-2012 agreement should include precise commitments on servicing the adaptation needs and priorities of the LDCs, he said adding, the contributions should be legally binding in a measurable and verifiable manner.
   Preferential access to environmentally sound technologies, know-how, practices and process pertinent to climate change is crucial for LDCs, he said and added, the international intellectual property regime needs to be revisited, and, if needed, revised, so that an enabling atmosphere for smooth transfer of technology is established.
   The environment secretary said, United Nations can play a catalytic role by providing a solid platform to facilitate technology transfer. It can provide technical support to developing countries in conducting technology needs assessment, as well as in transforming such assessments into bankable technology transfer projects. The UN can also undertake studies and provide policy recommendations on how the current IP regime could be tailored towards the sustainable development needs of the developing countries, he added.
   The role of partnership in addressing climate change is significant, he said adding, while building partnerships among countries are crucial, it is also important to forge partnership within the country between the government, business community, NGOs and other stakeholders. Business community, which provides investment capital and undertakes technological innovation, can play a major role in support of Government’s efforts in addressing climate change.
   The world now is more united than ever before in addressing the threats of climate change, he said and urged the UN to take the lead in facilitating discussions between developed and developing countries for an agreement on the stabilization target and subsequent action plans to save our humanity from the dangerous consequences; which is imminent. If we fail to do so, humanity is destined to suffer, he warned.
   The Bangladesh statement was endorsed by the ministers of Mozambique, Tuvalu, Maldives, Ghana and other heads of delegations.
   During the UNGA debate, Bangladesh delegation tried to consult with other LDC member states and G-77 and China and flagged-in the position of Bangladesh and LDCs quite successfully which was also appreciated by other LDC countries and AOSIS.

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