Dhaka summit battles climate change policy

The Climate Vulnerable Forum has convened in Bangladesh for countries worried about how climate change threatens them to create a unified statement just weeks ahead of UN-sponsored talks on the same subject in Durban, South Africa.

"Under the Dhaka agreement, they will commit to reducing their carbon emissions because for them, it's a matter of survival," said Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque, reporting from northeastern Bangladesh.

The 18 countries represented at the forum are rallying for climate justice for more than a collective 500 million people.

"Yet, their voices don't carry very much political weight because they are from mostly poor countries," our correspondent said.

Stefan Priesner, the UN's country director in Dhaka told the Associated Press news agency that the countries were expected to issue a declaration seeking action by industrialised nations and urgent support to limit increasing loss of human life and other damages.

But the countries convened at the Climate Vulnerable Forum do not know what kind of demands they can work with to create an effective lobby at the Durban conference.

"It's extremely discouraging that even public opinion in major countries -- and I think of North America in particular -- does not seem to understand the importance of this issue," Ross Mountain, the General Director of the organisation that organised the Bangladesh forum, told Al Jazeera.

The officials have reportedly discussed ways of getting assistance in technology, capacity and finance to adapt and pursue low-carbon growth.

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's prime minister, was scheduled to inaugurate the conference in Dhaka on Monday before UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was also planned to speak.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Nicolas Haque
• aljazeera
• Al Jazeera
• asianews

[JonThm]

Nature does nuclear fusion using regular water

[marvelstryfe]

yous also woundnt have so many mouths to feed if you people would close your legs to

[yourtreat2]

@yaroslavmalakhov Yeah. We'ere just having a bit of bad weather, and the hot air from your farts are melting the glaciers and the polar ice caps, as well.

BTW. I see your frontal lobotomy was a success. Congratulations!!!!

[LindyinWales]

scam is it? you tell those guys who are loosing their homes and land to the rising water. I know us lucky people in most temperate zones will actually see most things improve - apart from a few extra storms and a little more of the snow that has occurred on both sides of the Atlantic in the past 12 months. But hey-ho, we are imaging it all, right?

[juginger]

Ah, the globalist´s news channel promoting the man made global scam. Never mind that we are poisoned by chemtrails and geoengineering. It aslo does not matter that Monsanto has already developed aluminum resistent seeds in case our soil is poisoned enough so that you can no longer grow food naturally. No, you have to be afraid of CO2, which plants need to breath. Buhu CO2, you must feel guilty all the time, so that the Rothschild´s and Al Gore can tax you.

[skeletonmom]

@RalphMarx - Agreed. I have lived in subtropical Florida and north woodland Pennsylvania-and have seen weird, unseasonal changes that were out of character for that climate. In the area of Pennsylvania that I live in, there are very old families that have been here since the beginning of statehood, and they are concerned at the changes they are seeing...especially when it negatively affects their crops, which is a HUGE industry here...

[RalphMarx]

@yaroslavmalakhov i REALLY disagree , i come from a tropical country and i tell you, its getting HOTTER. no joke to point where you feel the skin burn off you

[sakif25]

Climate change or not - we can see whats happening and the deveoped countries need to play a part as well.

[yaroslavmalakhov]

Climate change doesn't exist. The sun is in high activity presently, he poor people cannot change how the sun is working. Better move ur place before the house collapses

[allgoo19]

You can't change the reality..

One more evidence, then another, then another...

Sea level rising will be the least to worry about.

Climate change will damage the farm clops in many different ways, flood, drought, heat. Followed by food shortage then price hike.

Expect deaths in Millions, possibly Billions.