Energy Bangla

Energy electricity and environment news portal

Dhaka Friday,  Mar 29, 2024

Global Climate Summit: COP-22

Lavishness vs Survival

Rafiqul Bashar

Climate change has been an issue since the last couple of decades. But, Parties from the developed countries have been continuously denying the weight and gravity of this problem for the sake of some political reason. They are playing politics with the under-developed or least developed and developing countries. It’s clear that, the industrialized countries are solely responsible for the global climate change when, climate change is a life-threatening issue for the sufferer developing countries. However, both parties somehow agreed that we need to save our planet before it’s too late but no one is coming forward in the first place.

Morocco is holding this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP-22), which is well known as global climate summit. This year’s edition will focus on adopting the historic Paris Agreement (PA) that was made during COP-21 in December last year. COP-22 began on November 7 and will continue till November 18.

Both the parties are now busy at negotiating on their demands there in Morocco. Needless to say that, the industrialized countries are only eager to lead a life full of lavishness by accumulating and utilizing the minerals and fuels at level best; no matter how much the climate is affected! On the other hand, least developed countries are just trying to survive in the wake of various natural calamities triggered by the recent climate changes.

Natural calamities, disasters and see-level hiking are the most common instances of the adverse impacts of the global climate change. Different studies suggest that, these calamities are causing many sufferings, damages to life and property of the poor countries; thousands of people are already homeless and millions of them are on the way due to climate change, while the poor or least developed countries have almost no contribution to make the climate change happen.

Developed countries are reluctant on both paying to the “Green Climate Fund (GCF)” and reducing greenhouse gas emission. They just reluctantly consent that the least developed countries deserve global assistance to fight climate change and the developed countries should reduce the greenhouse gas emission.

Now the question is who will bell the cat? No one is taking the first step towards the solution. As a result, developing and least developed countries are in real pressure. Moreover, industrialized countries are saying that, everyone should reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emission while they themselves are not doing so.

Least developed countries have raised their investments on renewable energy sources and also reduced their carbon emission. Moreover, the least developed and developing nations are ready to do more to save the planet and themselves of course. But, increasing the investment on renewable energy and decreasing the carbon emission requires a lot of money which they lack in most of the cases. Developed countries must come forward here by assisting the affected as they are responsible for the fate of the least developed countries. It’s a matter of great regret that the developed nations are always trying to escape it this or that way. In the recent years the developed countries came up with a new idea of determining the pollution level by head count, which is definitely a backdoor for them.

In order to confine the climate change we need to reduce the emission of carbon. Reducing carbon means decreasing the use of fossil fuel which could result weakening the economy of a country. Considering this fact most of the leaders from developed countries are not much interested in confining the climate change.

Developed countries like USA, Canada, Russia, Australia, Germany and Japan are the key countries that are staying reluctant at climate change issue. Developing countries like China, India, and Brazil have recently showed up as the companion to the developed countries towards the climate change issue.

The GCF was formed in 2010 to fight the hostility of the climate change. The GCF is a fund within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) founded as a mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change. Developed nations are claiming that they put $33 billion in the GCF but the least developed nations are saying that the amount is only $5 billion. Least developed countries alleged that the developed nations are counting the ‘social welfare’ funds within the GCF.

It was said that an independent organization would be formed to assess the loss and damages that happens due to natural calamities. But the USA and Canada are against the formation of such organization. They are strictly denying the existence of the term ‘climate change’ in some cases. If there is no ‘climate change’ then there is no need to pay for them and reducing the carbon emission. The country who is facing the natural disasters should try to adapt with it with the country’s own capability- it is the motto that these countries are trying to propagate. Australia recently joined the team of USA and Canada saying that the coastal countries should adapt with the changed climate.

The UNFCCC entered into force in 1994, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The COP was designated as the supreme governing body of the Convention.

To date, 195 countries have submitted their instruments of ratification. These countries meet once a year, during two weeks, in order to evaluate the application of the Convention and develop the negotiation process between the Parties in front of new commitments.

It is believed that the existence of human race might face a threat if no special care of the climate is taken before 2020. Already the greenhouse gas exceeded the dangerous threshold of 400 parts per million (ppm), which is an alarming factor. Different study reports suggest that the global temperature may rise up to 4 to 6 degree Celsius, which is an indication of uncertain future.

Bangladesh is in the top of the most affected countries due to climate change. So, the delegation, who reached Morocco on behalf of the Bangladeshi government should try to address the loss and damage of our country and people caused by the adverse impacts of climate change. We should target to set a mechanism so that we can reduce our risk.

Comment here