New Age Special Correspondent Shahidul Islam Chowdhury summarises the draft of Bangladesh’s position paper to be presented at the COP-13 summit in Bali next month

Climate change is an evolving concern. Over the past two decades, scientists including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have confirmed global warming increases due to rise in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere owing to anthropogenic GHGs emissions.
   Evidence of global warming has been observed worldwide, with increase in melting ice, devastating floods, cyclones, drought, and other anomalies. Hundreds of millions are already suffering from the impacts of global warming. Ecosystems, plant and animal species are feeling the pressure as food becomes scarce, habitats disappear, and ambient climatic conditions disrupted.
   The very success of economic growth, wealth and prosperity risks disrupting the climate that has served the nations so well until now. But catastrophic climate change is approaching fast. Unless the nations make significant efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, the global climate will continue to warm rapidly over coming decades and beyond.
   Within 35 years the cost of climate change could rise to US$ 1 trillion in a single year, according to ‘Adaptation and Vulnerability to Climate Change: The Role of the Finance Sector’ a briefing paper on UNEP Finance Initiative, November, 2006.
   A Collective response to combat global warming and climate change has led to the creation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) and the Kyoto Protocol (1997). Although parties to the convention, US, Australia and some other large GHG emitting countries did not agree to the Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in 2005 fulfilling the relevant requirements. A review on the progress during the first commitment period [until 2011] and discussions on framework for future commitment period are underway.
   The progress report for the first fifteen years on actions and inactions provides evidence of achievement and failure in the negotiations process. Ultimately, very little real impact of these response outcomes has taken place to enable the parties to address mitigation to climate change or deal with the adverse impacts through adaptation to climate change. An agreement on a legally binding multilateral regime after 2012 is the general expectation of many parties to the climate change convention from the upcoming negotiations [COP 13 and COP/MOP3] schedule to take place in Bali, Indonesia, in December this year. This would lead to a global agreement on a future framework [post 2012] in 2009.
   In this context, Bangladesh expects the global community to agree on working together as a collective, consider progressive emission reduction targets over successive commitment periods, ensure equality in participation and decision making, under common but differentiated responsibility in implementing the future commitments, pursue the ‘precautionary’ and ‘no regrets’ principles, establish legal recognition for climate refugees, ensure compensation for climate change victims, and provide resources to the vulnerable to reduce and manage climate risk and adapt to climate change, according to a draft briefing document prepared for the Bangladesh delegation to the Bali negotiations.
   Bangladesh is likely to focus on the above issues, positions and consider aligning position within G77 and the Least Developing Countries, said the document.
   According to a highly placed source in the environment and forest ministrty, the following considerations are likely to be addressed at the Bali 2007 climate conference:
   1. Drastic emission reductions to prevent global worming,
   2. Legally binding emission reduction targets for all responsible countries,
   3. Equitable reduction targets,
   4. Access to carbon neutral technology and funds for technology transfer to help secure energy requirement,
   5. Matching adaptation needs and elements of framework in future commitment,
   6. Developing countries need defense in depth, including infra structure to address risks and impact s,
   7. Climate refugees should be granted legal rights to provide for the rehabilitation and recovery,
   8. Innovation financial mechanism,
   9. Fast t racking of funds for climate change, and
   10. Equity principles should apply as denominator.