South Asian nations need to show a stronger and more united front in international climate negotiations to protect hundreds of millions of poor people being affected by climate change, experts say. The experts from Bangladesh and India also called for active collaboration in sharing knowledge and technology to boost food production, energy efficiency and measures to reduce disaster risks. The calls were made during a seminar in Dhaka called “Regional Action on Climate Change: Bridging the Gaps,” organized by Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad, an NGO, in association with Oxfam and the EU. “We should come up with a common platform for addressing climate change,” Bangladesh’s deputy environment and forest minister said in his keynote address. He expressed regret that many developed countries, which are mainly responsible for climate change, are reluctant to provide funds to combat the effects. “We have to create more pressure and find ways to get the money from them,” Khan said. As many as 600 million people in South Asia live on less than US$1.25 a day, and climate change is causing them greater hardship, he added. Referring to a report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changet, Khan warned that a predicted 1-meter rise in sea levels would wipe away 18 percent of Bangladesh’s coastal area and displace millions of people. Oxfam Representative Ziaul Haque Mukta said that there has been a number of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation agreements on issues related to climate change, which have not been implemented. He said Indian politicians need to be more sincere in addressing issues at regional or multilateral forums. Indian lawmaker Anup Kumar Saha agreed, saying the need to work together regionally for rational management of water and addressing climate change impacts was now more vital than ever. Related Reports: Caritas helps in the fight against disaster
