Bangladesh:

Before the COP-28 conference, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Environment of the Bangladesh National Assembly strongly recommended that the government assess the potential impact of climate change.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference is set to commence on November 30 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and will run until December 12.

This recommendation was put forth during the 41st meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. The meeting was chaired by Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, and took place on Tuesday, October 17.

During the meeting, the committee instructed the ministry to compile a comprehensive list of potential losses that Bangladesh might incur due to climate change in preparation for the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP-28).

Furthermore, it has been recommended that Bangladesh classify rubber as an agricultural product, following the examples set by India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

The committee has also requested the preparation of an updated list detailing areas where rubber plantations may become unsustainable within the next decade, along with an updated inventory of both public and private rubber plantations in the country. These will be presented in the upcoming meeting.

Additionally, the Ministry of Environment was urged to take appropriate steps to recover 536 crores from the climate change trust fund, which is currently held as a Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) in Padma Bank Limited.

(Independent Journalist)