Staff Reporter

Dr. Patrick V. Verkooijen, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) called on the Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen at the State Guest House Padma in Dhaka yesterday.

During the call on, Foreign Minister urged GCA to continue its advocacy for mobilizing financing for climate adaptation. The GCA CEO sought support of vulnerable countries like Bangladesh to stress the importance of doubling adaptation financing. They regretted the limited amount of funding available under the much-anticipated Adaptation Fund.

They also exchanged views on the water-climate nexus and the issues that may be highlighted from climate adaptation perspective at the UN Water Conference from 22-24 March 2023 in New York.

Dr. Momen responded positively to work with GCA on scaling up climate adaptation efforts on a regional basis, including through a high-level meeting in Dhaka later this year.

Dr. Verkooijen thanked Bangladesh for hosting the GCA South Asia office and the Global Hub on Locally Led Adaptation in Dhaka. He also appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s global leadership role in climate adaptation.

He applauded Bangladesh for formulating the Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan and underscored the need for meaningful international support for its implementation.

Earlier, Dr. Verkooijen chaired a multi-stakeholder roundtable discussion on climate adaptation in presence of the Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of Bangladesh and of the Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

As part of the day’s program, the UK Minister of State Anne-Marie Trevelyan and the Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md. Shahriar Alam signed a bilateral Climate Accord on behalf of their respective governments. The Deputy Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Habibun Nahar was also present.