Speech
10 September 2008
UK & Bangladesh Climate Change Conference - Speech by Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for International Development
Thank you Minouche (DFID Permanent Secretary Nemat (Minouche) Shafik), and let
me say that it is a pleasure to share the platform with colleagues from
Bangladesh and Denmark – who face a particular responsibility as we approach the
summit in Copenhagen next year.
It is a testament to the importance of today’s conference that we have with us
such leading figures from politics and policy making, from science and academia,
from the private sector and non-governmental organisations.
And whatever our backgrounds or expertise – whether politician, scientist or
activist - it is no longer possible for any of us in 2008 to say simply: "my
interest is in tackling climate change", or instead "my interest is in tackling
poverty".
For if we do not take the necessary action to tackle climate change, we risk
condemning the world’s poorest people to generations of poverty. And it is just
as true that development – a new kind of resilient, low carbon development – is
the only credible response to climate change.
So it is an honour to be here today – alongside Dr. Mirza (the Government of
Bangladesh’s Finance Adviser Dr. Mirza Azizul Islam) - for what is both a
conference and a statement of solidarity between the people of the United
Kingdom and of Bangladesh. Of course our two countries share many ties: of
history; culture; and for many people, strong family ties.
And to those connections we can surely now add another – for the people of
Britain and Bangladesh face a common challenge of climate change. Heavy rains
brought disruption to the north and midlands of England just this very weekend,
and I know that thousands of people have been affected by terrible flooding in
Bangladesh. Of course it is impossible to attribute any one such incident to
climate change – yet we do know that scientists predict they will grow in
frequency and intensity.
Seeing the reports of those recent floods caused me to cast my mind back to last
December, when I visited Bangladesh to see how Britain’s aid was helping to deal
with the consequences of Cyclone Sidr. And when I think back to that visit I
think not only of the physical and emotional hardships suffered by the people I
met. I also think of the extraordinary spirit they showed – of resilience, of
courage, and of hope.
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I remember Lotifa and her two young children. They had lost her family home and
all that was in it – but they were now sharing their temporary shelter with
another family. I remember Topo, a five year old girl who lost both of her
parents in the cyclone – yet kept her hopes to become a dancer when she is
older.
These people are the very reason that we are here today. The people for whom
climate change is not – as our Prime Minister Gordon Brown just said - a future
threat, but a lived reality. Last year the IPCC’s report showed us that the
science of climate change is now beyond any reasonable doubt. And the Human
Development Report described climate change as, and I quote: "the defining human
development issue of our generation".
So we must respond to this challenge. Governments have an important role to play
in protecting their peoples from the direct impact of climate change.
And so the Government of Bangladesh has been at the forefront of disaster
planning. Indeed, amidst the tragedy of Cyclone Sidr was the story of an even
greater disaster that was averted – when as many as 1.5 million people were able
to find refuge in cyclone shelters in the worst-hit areas, and some 40,000
volunteers with megaphones and bicycles helped to get more than three million
people out of harm’s way just in time.
And beyond the extremes of flooding, drought and cyclone, governments can help
people to adapt to the change they see in their surroundings – today and indeed
tomorrow.
Again, Bangladesh has led the way. Helping the farmer whose fields are now
flooded by sea water to use new salt-tolerant varieties of rice – or even to
earn a living through fishing rather than farming.
Helping to raise homes on plinths so that the poorest don’t see what little they
have washed away with the rains each year.
Providing communities with rain-water harvesters so that the heavy rains of the
monsoon season can be stored and put to effective agricultural use.
Forty years ago, environmentalists coined the phrase ‘think global, act local’.
And in Bangladesh the Government is taking local action to protect the people
who are most vulnerable to dangerous climate change.
This is the practical help that makes a difference to families and indeed
communities. I applaud the Government of Bangladesh in making its response to
climate change a strategic priority – about which I know Dr Mirza will say more.
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Yet Bangladesh cannot tackle the rising waters alone. Local action is not enough
– it must be backed both by regional and global cooperation.
Bangladesh is a leading partner in the Abu Dhabi dialogue intended to improve
the management of the rivers of the Greater Himalayas – and I am pleased to say
that we have four other members of that important initiative with us here today:
Nepal; Afghanistan; Bhutan and Pakistan.
Why is it so important that these countries come together to plan their water
needs for the future? Quite simply because one and a half billion people in the
region rely on rivers that flow from the Himalayas and through seven countries.
Through regional cooperation, those countries can provide much needed early
warning of the kind of river surges that have brought widespread flooding to
India and Nepal. And those countries can share insights on the changing nature
of life along these rivers, and how best to make the necessary adaptations.
So in tackling climate change, we must ‘think global act local’. We must ‘think
global act regional’. And we must ‘think global act global’ - by agreeing a fair
and ambitious deal in Copenhagen next year.
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What does fair and ambitious mean? I have argued that any agreement made at
Copenhagen next year must meet five clear development tests if we are to avoid
condemning the world’s poorest people to generations of poverty.
First, any deal must include a goal with credible near-term targets to limit
greenhouse gases. By committing to a cut in emissions of at least 50% by 2050,
and making explicit the link between climate change and development, the G8 in
July laid the groundwork for a suitable agreement. But we are far from
complacent – there is a long way to go in just over a year, and today’s joint
communiqué from the Governments of Bangladesh and the UK makes clear our common
commitment to achieve a deal which has ambitious, achievable targets.
Second, any deal must find a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that is
fair and equitable. The people of Bangladesh are suffering the harsh effects of
climate change, yet are responsible for only one-fifth of one per cent of global
greenhouse gas emissions. Developed countries must take the greatest
responsibility for cutting emissions, because we hold the greatest
responsibility for the climate change that is occurring, and we have the
greatest capacity to act in response. But developing countries, and in
particular the largest emerging economies, will also need to shoulder
responsibility.
A key part of such a transition will be the third test of a deal at Copenhagen –
a reformed carbon market to help poor countries adopt resilient, low carbon
development. Both at global and national levels, we need to make the carbon
market work more effectively – and increase the incentives for more innovation
like the waste concern project in Dhaka, which reduces the methane emissions
from household and commercial rubbish and more broadly for adaptation in
countries.
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Fourth, we must provide greater support for technology development and transfer
to benefit developing countries. Rich countries and emerging economies will have
the resources to change to low-carbon paths quickest. Our shared challenge is to
help every country to change and be part of a new global low-carbon economy.
Bangladesh needs to double its energy production by 2012 to meet the growing
needs of its population. That demand for energy stems from a fundamental right
to development. We cannot simply say to the people of Bangladesh: ‘I’m sorry,
but the planet can’t sustain your energy needs’, and somehow pull up the ladder
of opportunity behind us.
Instead, the international community must find ways to help countries like
Bangladesh make the most out of opportunities for renewable and clean energy
sources like solar power, that are both cleaner and more sustainable than fossil
fuel reserves.
And my final point on Copenhagen is that any deal must provide more support for
developing countries to build their resilience and adapt to climate change. That
will involve international funds – such as the strategic climate fund launched
at the G8, supported by £800 million from the United Kingdom Government. And it
will mean providing direct support for countries’ own plans to protect the most
vulnerable communities.
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I am delighted, on behalf of the British Government, to join together with Dr
Mirza today to show our collective commitment to tackling climate change at both
the global and yes, the local level.
Together, we committing to work towards an international climate change deal in
Copenhagen next year that provides leadership on this greatest of global
challenges.
And I am delighted therefore to announce, from this platform today, that the
United Kingdom will increase our support for Bangladesh’s efforts to protect its
people from the devastating impacts of climate change – with £75 million of
grant funding.
Through that investment, the United Kingdom will help Bangladesh to prepare and
respond to future natural disasters, and save lives through early warning
systems.
We will help to build the sea defences, embankments and roads that will help
vulnerable communities to carry on their lives even when rivers and oceans
swell.
We will help to provide the saline tolerant seeds and the training that farmers
need to ensure that they can keep producing crops when the land they have farmed
for generations changes around them.
And yes we will help the Government of Bangladesh to monitor weather patterns
and the changing of the rivers and seas so that it can take the evidence from
the front line of Climate Change to the corridors of the Copenhagen conference
next year.
For the world has a duty to rise to the challenge of climate change. It is our
shared obligation. It is our shared task. And working together it can be our
shared achievement.
Links
- Bangladesh faces up to climate change
- Time is running out for people of Bangladesh hit by climate change - Press release, 10 September 2008
