UN Chief Urges Climate Change Help Despite Slowdown
BANGLADESH: November 3, 2008
DHAKA - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged developed
countries not to neglect climate change as they tend to a global economic
slowdown and called on rich nations to help poor countries prone to global
warming.
"The leaders of the developed countries should not neglect the issue of
global warming," he told a news conference at the end of his two-day visit
to Bangladesh on Sunday.
"A one-metre rise in sea levels would displace 30 million Bangladeshis and
deal a catastrophic blow to economic growth and development," Ban said.
Experts say climate change will hit Bangladesh's nearly 150 million people
from all sides over the next 50 years with sea levels rising in the south,
droughts in the north, river erosion as glaciers melt and disease risk
growing with greater humidity.
Ban said Bangladesh had been at the forefront of disaster prevention, and
was a good example of how a vulnerable developing country can strengthen its
resilience against catastrophic events such as super cyclone Sidr.
Cyclone Sidr ravaged southern Bangladesh killing some 3,500 people and
displacing some two million on Nov. 15 last year, following twin floods that
killed some 1,500 people and damaged about 2 million tonnes of food.
Aid organisation Oxfam said urgent help and a comprehensive climate deal
were crucial to Bangladesh where production of staple foods is forecast to
drop steeply by 2050 due to accelerated melting of Himalayan glaciers from
global warming.
Ban also visited a disaster management project run by the UN and the
Bangladesh government, at a river island near Sirajganj district 150 km (94
miles) northwest of the capital Dhaka, on Sunday.
Referring to the upcoming Dec. 18 election, he said, "The opposition must
engage constructively with the new government to consolidate the reform
begun by the current caretaker government -- particularly those dedicated to
fighting corruption."
Ban arrived in Dhaka on Saturday to assess preparations for the election
under the guidance of the army-backed interim government.
"... the UN will dispatch a small team of highly capable and prominent
individuals who will visit in the coming weeks to assess the conduct of the
election and report to me," Ban said.
Story by Nizam Ahmed
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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