Rizvi hopes Bangladesh will secure its fair share at COP-31 summit

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, acting secretary general of the BNP and adviser to the Prime Minister, has expressed hope that Bangladesh's fair share will be ensured at the COP-31 summit to be held in Turkey, considering the country's contribution and losses in tackling the harmful effects of climate change.

He expressed this hope while talking to journalists on Tuesday (10 November) morning, after seeing off the 21-member delegation led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman before its departure for Turkey.

Rizvi said heads of government from different countries will take part in COP-31, organised under the initiative of the United Nations to tackle global warming. The 21-member Bangladeshi delegation led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is also going to Turkey to join it.

Noting that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is known to the people as the 'Green Prime Minister', he said the Prime Minister has taken various initiatives, including planting 25 crore trees in five years, excavating canals and increasing the use of renewable energy. These programmes were also included in the BNP's election manifesto.

The BNP leader said global warming is rising due to man-made causes. As the earth's temperature has risen alarmingly, humanity is now facing a perilous situation. At such a time, the Prime Minister's participation in the COP-31 summit is highly significant.

He said world leaders and experts will discuss reducing carbon dioxide emissions at the summit. He hoped effective solutions would emerge from these discussions, adding that it is everyone's responsibility to protect this beautiful earth.

He also said the international summit could take epoch-making steps to bring the earth back to normal from the terrible effects of climate change.

Asked by journalists whether Bangladesh will get its fair share from the COP-31 summit, he said the summit is extremely significant and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is taking part in it.

He said he hoped the fair share would be ensured, considering the damage Bangladesh suffers due to climate change compared with the amount of carbon it emits.

The 21-member delegation led by the Prime Minister is now on its way to Turkey. All eyes will now be on how Bangladesh's position and demands are presented at the summit.