Climate vulnerable countries need enough support: CA Yunus

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus underscored the need for substantial financial and technical support to help the most climate-vulnerable countries, which have limited capacity for decarbonisation, in developing green industries.

He said that Bangladesh is prepared to collaborate with the Climate Club to enhance international cooperation in areas such as capacity building, technology transfer, and concessional financing for decarbonisation.

Professor Yunus made these remarks at the High-Level Climate Club Leaders Meeting, co-hosted by Germany and Chile, during COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, according to a message received.

He highlighted the urgency of deep, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and called for comprehensive global action. Prof. Yunus stated that achieving a 43 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2050 is essential to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

He called for demonstrating and deploying proven low-emissions technologies, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies.

"Many decarbonisation technologies require significant upfront investment. These high capital costs can be a barrier for industries, particularly in most vulnerable developing countries like Bangladesh, with limited access to financing," he said.

The Chief Adviser underscored the need for developing financial vehicles to finance the industrial decarbonisation fostering access to concessional finance for the private sector industries in the emerging developing economies like Bangladesh.

Ensuring international cooperation, capacity building and technology transfer under Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement are essential, he said.

Putting emphasis on international agreements on carbon pricing or border adjustment taxes to create a level playing field by imposing equivalent carbon costs on imports, the 2006 Noble Peace Laureate said the least developed countries (LDCs) will need preferential treatment owing to their special circumstances and development needs.

About the industry decarbonisation, he said, carbon leakage can dilute incentives for innovation in low-carbon technologies globally as some sectors might prioritise cost over sustainable practices.

"To mitigate these risks, policies such as carbon border adjustments and international cooperation are essential to balance decarbonisation efforts with economic stability," Prof Yunus said.

Conversely, he said, these policies can affect the competitiveness of the companies of particularly vulnerable developing countries like Bangladesh since strong emission policies will cause higher production costs, making them less competitive globally.

"Hence, preferential treatments are required for LDCs owing to their unique circumstances and development needs," he added.

The Chief Adviser said advancing ambitious mitigation policies in a fragmented way is leading to emitting industrial activities moving to regions with less stringent or no carbon pricing policies, which leads to carbon leakage and thus may hamper the global goal of reducing overall global emissions.

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms (CBAMs) proposed by the EU, could incentivise countries to strengthen their climate policies by indirectly applying emissions standards to exported goods and prevent carbon leakage, he said.

Prof Yunus said international collaboration is required to foster economic growth and create new job opportunities in emerging markets, supporting a just and inclusive transition.