The COP is an acronym for Conference of the Parties, adopted by the United Nations Climate Conference: to mitigate or control the effects of global warming or climate change caused by the massive release of harmful carbon emissions from the long-burning oil and gas of industrialized countries. The 28th edition of the conference was held in Glasgow, Scotland at the invitation of the United Kingdom from 31 October to 12 November 2021, after the first conference was held in Berlin, Germany in 1995. This year’s conference was attended by representatives of 200 countries and leaders of 120 countries, including the world’s most powerful powers, as well as about 25,000 representatives of various international organizations, environmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations.

Several European countries, including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland, were hit by floods in 2020, the year before the conference, with 134 countries now at risk of fires in North America, Oceania and Siberia. All this has happened due to climate change.

Debate over climate change:

Developed and developing countries are blaming each other for the damage to the climate and the environment as to who is actually responsible for the high carbon emissions. Developed countries are blaming China and India as the developing countries of the world for their overpopulation and overproduction. Developed countries, on the other hand, do not want to take responsibility for harming the environment by using too much energy for their development activities. But the real truth is, whether one is responsible or not, but both sides are doing damage to the environment, everyone must come forward to save the world. World leaders have warned that the United Nations has taken steps to protect its climate and environment. And these demands and programs are organized for implementation has been COP-26.

Importance of COP-26 for Bangladesh:

Bangladesh has become one of the top countries on the list of countries at risk of climate change. According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, Bangladesh ranks seventh in the list of disasters caused by climate change and fifth in terms of economic losses. And according to the UNICEF report, the children of Bangladesh are in the 15th position in this list of risks, indicating how much risk the next generation is living with. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of climate refugees will increase if the sea level rises by 1.5 meters due to global warming. If this trend of change continues, the financial loss of Bangladesh will be 14 lakh 19 thousand 300 crores. So the importance of this conference for Bangladesh is immense.

Bangladesh’s stake in the conference of COP-26:

Bangladesh, as a Ground-zero country, is a victim of climate change without any fault of its own. Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina attended the COP-26 Conference as the Chairperson of the V-20 Alliance of 48 Countries Affected by Climate Change. Bangladesh, like other countries, is at risk of climate change, so the representative of the country went to the Glasgow Conference with specific goals. Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has put forward three-point proposals to the world leaders to address the effects of climate change. These are:

1. The industrialized nations should come up with a plan to significantly reduce the carbon emission
2. The Developed countries should create a fund of 100 Billion dollars yearly as they promised for Environmental risk mitigation.
3. Developed countries need to provide green technologies at a lower cost.

The next generation will be at risk to living in this planet if the countries fail to mitigate the effects of climate change, and it needs to be taken seriously.