Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday put forward three suggestions before the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G), including strengthening campaign about its action-oriented approach by engaging more financiers, innovators, policymakers and creative entrepreneurs in its focus areas. “P4G needs to campaign more about its action-oriented approach, engaging more financiers, innovators, policymakers and creative entrepreneurs in the five P4G focus areas [food, water, energy, cities and circular economy], and share best practices,” she said in her recorded statement played in the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit. The two-day summit is being held on the theme of “Inclusive Green Recovery towards Carbon Neutrality” in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea, aiming to position P4G as a delivery mechanism to build back better and greener in this decade of action. The second suggestion Sheikh Hasina placed is the need for a whole-of-world attitude in addition to a whole-of-society approach for achieving green growth and global goals 2030. Placing the third suggestion, she said, “We, the participating leaders in the P4G Summit, need to work more closely towards a greener future for our next generation.” In the statement, the prime minister said Bangladesh’s key focus is to promote locally-led adaptation solutions to address the adverse impact of climate change. “As the chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum-CVF and the host to the South Asian office of Global Centre on Adaptation, Bangladesh’s key focus is to uphold the interests of the climate vulnerable countries and promote locally-led adaptation solutions,” she said. The prime minister said water, an area of work for P4G, is one of the most valuable assets of Bangladesh. “So, we’ve adopted a 100-year sustainable development plan styled as Delta Plan 2100 that focuses on efficient use and preservation of water.” She said Bangladesh is the first LDC to establish a “Climate Change Trust Fund” from its own resources. “Every year we spend about 5 billion US dollars on climate adaptation and mitigation measures.” Bangladesh, a member of the P4G, pursues a low carbon development path. “Our National Solar Energy Action Plan 2021-2041 predicts generation of up to 40 Giga Watt of renewable energy by 2041,” she added. Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh, the second largest exporter of readymade garments, is exploring efficient options of circular fashion and textiles as part of the overall circular economy. “Despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic with its many challenges, we’ve the opportunity to build back better through inclusive green recovery and green growth,” she said. The second P4G summit is expected to culminate in the adoption of the Seoul Declaration, and will serve as a stepping stone towards the Glasgow Climate Change Conference (COP 26). The P4G global initiative was launched in 2017 to accelerate the response to climate change and implementation of the SDGs.
