Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus today (27 September) called for channelling robust resources for climate adaptation in the climate-vulnerable countries like Bangladesh.
“It is moreover crucial to operationalise Loss and Damage Fund by leveraging innovative solutions and additional finance,” he said in his speech at the 79th United Nations General Assembly.
Speaking in Bangla Prof Yunus said they equally need access to technologies and increased capacity.
“To be specific, we need access to live-saving technologies, particularly in agriculture, water or public health, where trickle of modest solutions or innovations can save millions of vulnerable population,” he said.
Tackling climate crisis has to go hand in hand with getting global economy in order as well, Yunus mentioned.
Climate change poses existential threats to all and the record-breaking heat wave this summer starkly reminded the world of the climate-induced changes.
“What we need is climate justice – so that the irresponsible choices or, indifferent actions or, harms caused are accounted for,” said the chief adviser.
“Long-term damages leave irreparable damages all-around: we are losing bio-diversity; changing pathogens leading to newer diseases; farming is under stress; shrinking water wealth threatening habitat; rising sea level and salinity decimating eco-systems,” he added.
The damages in terms of rising intensity and frequency of cyclones or floods can hardly be ignored.
The climatic risks are faced far deeper by our small farmers and artisanal livelihood-holders.
“As I speak, over five million people witnessed a most devastating flood in their living memory, in eastern Bangladesh,” Prof Yunus said.
Yet, Secretary-General Guterres showed that under the “current trajectory”, the world is heading for a +2.7°C scenario.
“The world is increasingly focussed on de-carbonisation. In order for such a shift to be beneficial to majority of global population, the transformative vision of a NetZero world has to redeem for countries like Bangladesh as well,” Prof Yunus said.
“Else, we risk falling short on our pledge to ‘shared prosperity’ through ‘shared responsibility’,” he added.
He believes the world needs to engage on a shared vision of ‘three zeroes’ that they can materialise together, targeting zero poverty, zero unemployment, and, zero net carbon emissions.
“Where a young person anywhere in the world will have opportunities to grow not as a job seeker but as entrepreneur; where a young person can unleash his or her latent creativity despite all limitations; where an entrepreneur can optimally balance social benefits, economic profits and responsibility towards nature; where social business can help an individual transcend beyond consumerism and can ultimately catalyse in social and economic transformation,” he said.
Time demands new attitudes, new values, new compact(s), across communities and countries, across developed and developing countries alike, across all actors and stakeholders, said the chief adviser.
“If we are to realize such course correction, in full, the United Nations system, national and sub-national governments, non-governmental organizations, business, philanthropies have to walk together,” he said.
“If we accept and accommodate ‘social business’ within existing economic structures, we can bring meaningful changes in the lives of the bottom half of population, in every society.”
He said if they can realistically position social business, we can stem much of climate-insensitive distortions within the existing market economy.
Prof Yunus invited the attention of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on that score.
