Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the world leaders to show visionary leadership to reach a conclusion on Post-2015 Development Agenda and a legal framework on climate change beyond 2020 for sustainable development of the world.
“The world leaders must recognize the two issues and provide visionary leadership and sincere commitment for achieving common goals for the sustenance of our world,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing a discussion titled “Leaders Dialogue: High Level Political Forum-From Vision to Action” in the UN Headquarters here on Tuesday.
The Forum was established with the mandate of Rio plus 20 to build on the strengths, experiences, resources and inclusive participation modalities of the Commission on Sustainable Development.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh is obliged to give emphasis on the three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental — with adaptation and mitigation programmes.
“Sustainable development is imperative for Bangladesh for its national survival, particularly due to climate change,” she said.
The Prime Minister said Bangladesh, as a frontline state vulnerable to climate change, is in the forefront of climate discourse.
“A major challenge of climate change for Bangladesh is global warming and an increase of one degree Celsius in temperature would result in a meter rise in sea- level submerging a fifth of its land mass and creating turmoil over 30 million “climate migrants” in a country already densely populated,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh remains active in the Open Working Group for Sustainable Development due to her deep concerns over the challenges. It also motivated Bangladesh to submit to the United Nations a set of nationally agreed targets for the Post-2015 Development Agenda, she said.
The Prime Minister said the Forum should recognize the special needs of the LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS in realizing sustainable development goals. Most countries in these groups are lagging behind in attaining the various Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), she said.
Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh has made notable success in some MDGs due to efficient use of available resources, local leadership, indigenous capabilities and innovations. “Our experience has been that expectations as well as commitments are important for sustainable development,” she added.
She said equally, delivery of the pledge of the developed nations to provide 0.7 percent of Gross National Product (GNP) as Official Development Assistance (ODA) and 0.2 percent of GNP as ODA for the LDCs as well as the transfer of technologies to the LDCs, and the other deprived groups, are important for development.
The Prime Minister said rapid pace of scientific and technological advancement is bringing dramatic socioeconomic progress within states. “They are also drawing states closer and making our world small, with its accompanying challenges,” she said.
“The abundance of natural and technological resources is at our disposal today, however, they offer the Forum the opportunity to make right choices in the face of the new challenges of our time,” she said.
“Our decisions must be aimed at ensuring the welfare of each and every human being and encompass all living species to have a sustainable world – a world that we would like to leave to our children and to the future generations,” she added.
