Bangladesh needs to promote climate diplomacy

Bangladesh needs to promote climate diplomacyFor a number of years, the Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy has been inviting me as a guest lecturer on climate diplomacy for their trainee officers. I am very pleased that as of this year they have made climate diplomacy into a two-day short course, with a number of eminent speakers from the government and academia giving lectures. The trainee officers seemed to enjoy the experience and even asked for it to be extended to five days from next year.

On that note, today, I will try to make the case why every new diplomat from Bangladesh needs to be climate literate, if not a climate expert.

Firstly, the need to tackle climate change is now a global existential threat that is recognised by all countries through both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Climate Agreement, of which Bangladesh has been a strong supporter as part of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group.

Within the UNFCCC realm of climate negotiations, while the Bangladesh delegation is led by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF), Foreign Service officers are always part of the delegation as well. Hence, some of our Foreign Service officers have already gained good knowledge on climate negotiations. The new diplomats need to be trained over time.

The second major bloc of countries where Bangladesh is a prominent player is the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), which now consists of 48 countries and is led by Ethiopia at the moment. In this forum, which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina led for a time a few years ago, the Bangladesh Foreign Service leads the Bangladesh delegation.

A third forum that Bangladesh also is a prominent member of is the group of V20 (Vulnerable 20) Finance Ministers, where Bangladesh is represented by the Economic Resources Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance.

This shows that the issue of climate change at the global level is no longer just an issue for the ministries of environment, but also of diplomacy and finance as well. 

So why does every new Bangladeshi diplomat need to be climate literate?

To start with, Bangladesh is one of the countries that are most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change and this fact is very well known around the world. Hence, any Bangladeshi diplomat will be expected to be aware of the fact and also be able to talk about the issue when meeting officials from other countries.

Secondly, the topic of climate change is not just confined to the UNFCCC negotiations but is now part of the routine bilateral diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and other countries. So a diplomat posted to another country will need to discuss common strategies on climate change with their counterparts there.

Thirdly, for Bangladesh climate change is likely to be a major long term problem, which is going to be unavoidable for us to tackle and learn to deal with. The government and other actors are all taking considerable steps to learn and then practice how to tackle climate change impacts. This needs to be reflected in our diplomacy as well.

The narrative of Bangladesh and climate change that our diplomats have to understand and sell to the world is that yes, we are indeed a very vulnerable country but we are not sitting idle and waiting for the world to come to our rescue. Rather, we are taking active steps to effectively adapt to climate change impacts and we are willing to share our knowledge of adaptation with all other countries, both developing as well as developed.

It needs to be made clear that Bangladesh is transforming itself from being one of the most vulnerable to one of the most adaptable when it comes to climate change.

 

A third forum that Bangladesh also is a prominent member of is the group of V20 (Vulnerable 20) Finance Ministers, where Bangladesh is represented by the Economic Resources Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance.

This shows that the issue of climate change at the global level is no longer just an issue for the ministries of environment, but also of diplomacy and finance as well. 

So why does every new Bangladeshi diplomat need to be climate literate?

To start with, Bangladesh is one of the countries that are most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change and this fact is very well known around the world. Hence, any Bangladeshi diplomat will be expected to be aware of the fact and also be able to talk about the issue when meeting officials from other countries.

Secondly, the topic of climate change is not just confined to the UNFCCC negotiations but is now part of the routine bilateral diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and other countries. So a diplomat posted to another country will need to discuss common strategies on climate change with their counterparts there.

Thirdly, for Bangladesh climate change is likely to be a major long term problem, which is going to be unavoidable for us to tackle and learn to deal with. The government and other actors are all taking considerable steps to learn and then practice how to tackle climate change impacts. This needs to be reflected in our diplomacy as well.

The narrative of Bangladesh and climate change that our diplomats have to understand and sell to the world is that yes, we are indeed a very vulnerable country but we are not sitting idle and waiting for the world to come to our rescue. Rather, we are taking active steps to effectively adapt to climate change impacts and we are willing to share our knowledge of adaptation with all other countries, both developing as well as developed.

It needs to be made clear that Bangladesh is transforming itself from being one of the most vulnerable to one of the most adaptable when it comes to climate change.

Originally this article was published on May 31, 2017 at Daily Star. The author Dr. Saleemul Huq is the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).
Email: saleem.icccad@iub.edu.bd