Dhaka Bureau: The four-day UN Climate Adaptation Conference ‘National Adaptation Plan (NAP) EXPO-2024’ is starting today in Dhaka. The success of the country in the climate adaptation plan under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be presented to the world at this conference. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate this ninth NAP Expo at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the capital. The conference will continue until April 25.
The conference has been organized under the United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with the cooperation of expert groups from the least developed countries and various organizations. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Steele will be present.
Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury gave this information in a press conference held at BICC on Sunday. Chief Secretary of the Prime Minister, Md. Tofazzal Hossain Mia, secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change. Farhina Ahmed.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury said that under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has become known as one of the most successful countries in the world and as a resilient country in adapting to climate change. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the picture of success in climate adaptation will be presented to the world. In continuation of that success, NAP Expo 2024 will be held at BICC from April 22 to April 25.
It was informed in the press conference that 383 people from 104 countries have registered to participate in the NAP Expo, including 114 Bangladeshis. Besides, 550 people, including representatives of various ministries, departments, and organizations, climate experts, NGO representatives, and students, will participate. 53 countries have so far submitted National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) to the UNFCCC. By participating in this conference, everyone will be able to mutually benefit from various issues related to the adaptation activities of different countries to deal with the impact of climate change.
The Environment Minister said that Bangladesh established the Climate Change Trust Fund in 2009 with its own funding, which is a rare initiative in the world, to transition from climate change-related risk to climate-tolerant status. So far, various projects have been taken up from our own resources in this fund at a cost of 490 million dollars. In addition, the government is spending more than USD 3 billion on climate adaptation every year under the annual development program.
The press conference also informed us that NAP Expo is an international forum where various countries, organizations, and other relevant stakeholders interact and exchange experiences in the formulation and implementation of NAP. The conference will hold expert meetings to discuss country experiences, best practices, implementation challenges, needs, and information on assistance provided and received related to the NAP formulation and implementation process and provide an opportunity to assess the implementation progress of NAPs in different countries.
Besides, it is a global platform with the aim of ensuring funding from GCF and other climate funds for the formulation and implementation of NAPs for countries at risk due to climate change. The expo organized various sessions, including training, to identify gaps and needs related to the process of NAP formulation and implementation in developing countries. In the session ‘Mobilizing Domestic Climate Finance: Experience of Bangladesh’, own climate fund or trust fund will be discussed.
In the ‘Advancement of the National Climate Plan of Bangladesh’ session, the National Adaptation Plan of Bangladesh will be discussed in detail. Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said that Bangladesh has adopted various plans to deal with the impacts of climate change. Bangladesh has already formulated the National Adaptation Plan 2022–2050. The National Adaptation Plan has identified 113 priority activities for 8 vulnerable sectors in 11 climate-stressed areas. There will be 23 stalls at the NAP conference. Where the adaptation activities of different countries will be displayed. Besides, in 16 sessions over 4 days, experts will discuss transformational adaptation, financial mechanisms, adaptation activity monitoring and evaluation tools, gender-responsive adaptation, etc.
Rainwater harvesting in 10 stalls allocated for Bangladesh, water harvesting through solar energy in hilly areas, climate-tolerant seeds, livestock conservation, and other agricultural activities, various activities of the Delta Plan in support of adaptation activities, cyclone shelters for climate adaptation, Mujib Killa, roads, culvert construction, climate-tolerant urban management, climate refugees, etc. will be displayed in this expo.
