Prime Minister’s Political Adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Tuesday said Bangladesh, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, would seek its rightful share of international support at COP31, despite being a negligible contributor to global carbon emissions.
“The conference is highly significant, especially as our Prime Minister is participating in it. We hope Bangladesh will secure its rightful share in global efforts to address the consequences of carbon dioxide emissions,” he said.
Rizvi made the remarks while talking to reporters at the airport after formally seeing off a 21-member high-level delegation led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman which left for Türkiye to attend COP 32 Summit on Tuesday morning.
He said the COP31 would bring together heads of government and experts to discuss ways to reduce global carbon emissions and address the growing threat of global warming.
Rizvi, also the BNP Acting Secretary General, described Tarique Rahman as a “green prime minister”, saying he had earned public appreciation for his environmental initiatives, including a plan to plant 25 crore trees over five years and promote fruit-bearing and timber trees as well as renewable energy.
He said Tarique had included these commitments in the BNP's election pledges even before assuming office and began implementing them from the day after becoming prime minister.
Referring to the growing impact of human-induced global warming, Rizvi said rising temperatures had pushed humanity into a vulnerable situation.
He said the international conference could play a significant role in finding solutions to protect the planet from severe global warming and make it habitable for future generations.
“We are not asking for mercy. We want real justice for Bangladesh. We want the world to recognise that we are suffering because of the emissions of others, although we contribute very little to the problem,” he said.
Rizvi said Bangladesh want to highlight its vulnerability at the conference and seek international support to address the damage caused by climate change.
“We want to make it clear at this conference that we are the victims and that our suffering is not caused by our own actions. We expect the international community to extend its support to help us overcome this situation,” he added.