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DHAKA: BNP Acting Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi has said that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is widely admired by the people as a “Green Prime Minister”.
He said the Prime Minister had taken various initiatives, including planting 250 million trees over five years, excavating canals and expanding the use of renewable energy.
A 21-member high-level delegation led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman departed for Türkiye on Tuesday morning. Speaking to journalists after formally seeing off the delegation at the airport, Rizvi made these remarks.
Rizvi said heads of state and government from different countries were attending the UN-organised COP31 conference to address global warming and environmental degradation. He described the Prime Minister’s participation in the summit as highly significant at such a critical moment.
Referring to Tarique Rahman as a “Green Prime Minister”, the BNP leader said he had made these commitments even before the election, pledging to implement them if his party came to power. According to Rizvi, the Prime Minister began working to fulfil those promises from the very first day after assuming office.
“We must save this beautiful planet. We have to protect the Earth from the devastating effects of global warming and make it habitable. I believe this international conference will be a landmark step towards addressing the impacts of climate change and restoring normal environmental conditions,” he said.
Highlighting the environmental challenges facing humanity, Rizvi expressed hope that discussions among world leaders and environmental experts would produce effective solutions to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
He also expressed optimism that Bangladesh would secure its fair share of support from COP31 to address the losses and damage caused by climate change.
Although Bangladesh contributes very little to global environmental pollution, it remains among the countries most severely affected by climate change, Rizvi said. He hoped the conference would play an effective role in securing international funding and ensuring the country’s legitimate rights.
Meanwhile, government Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said Bangladesh’s southern regions were particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
“Our country is among the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world. However, those responsible for carbon emissions often pay little attention to the losses we suffer. Through this COP conference, we want to make it clear that we are not asking for charity,” he said.
“We want genuine climate justice. We should not suffer disproportionately from the consequences of emissions, given our relatively small contribution to global carbon emissions. If we are affected by the actions of others, we expect the international community to extend its support to help us overcome those losses,” he added.