Prime Minister of Bangladesh wins top UN environment award
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been announced as a winner of the UN Champions of the Earth award for leadership on climate action
The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has been announced as a winner of the United Nations Champions of the Earth award in recognition of her efforts to combat climate change.
The awards are conferred by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which said in a statement: “Serving as Prime Minister of Bangladesh – one of the world’s least-developed countries – Sheikh Hasina has proven that investing in climate change is conducive to achieving social and economic development.”
UNEP also noted that Bangladesh is one of the world’s most heavily populated countries, with over 159 million people, and is also one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change with cyclones, floods and droughts intensifying in recent years.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP said: “Through a number of forward-looking policy initiatives and investments, Bangladesh has placed confronting the challenge of climate change at the core of its development.”
Steiner added: “These initiatives, from climate change adaptation measures to ecosystem preservation legislation, mean that current and future generations of Bangladeshis are better prepared to address climate change risks and reverse the impacts of environmental degradation… As an early adopter and advocate of climate change adaptation policy, she (Hasina) continues to be an example to follow as world leaders seek to take action on climate change as part of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate conference in December.”
The award recognises the progressive Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan of 2009, which made Bangladesh the first developing nation to introduce such a coordinated action plan.
UNEP also cited the fact that Bangladesh is the first country to set up its own Climate Change Trust Fund, which has been supported by nearly $300 million of domestic resources between 2009 and 2012.
The award also recognises that Bangladesh’s Government currently commits about $1 billion per year (6 to 7 per cent of its annual budget) on climate change adaptation measures.
Under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership, the Bangladesh Constitution was amended in 2011 to include a constitutional directive to the State to protect the environment and natural resources for current and future generations.
Robert Watkins, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh: “As one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, Bangladesh understands the importance of addressing the impact of climate change. The country is already experiencing its detrimental effects, and it is often the poorest and marginalised who feel it most.”
Watkins added: “I congratulate the Government of Bangladesh for being proactive in tackling climate change as a priority of the country. It is also a clarion call for the global community to take action today, and to realise that climate change is not a problem of the future, it is already happening in our lifetime.”
The Champions of the Earth awards will be handed out at a ceremony on 27 September in New York at the close of the Sustainable Development Summit.
Other winners announced so far are the National Geographic Society (Science and Innovation); Brazilian cosmetics firm Natura (Entrepreneurial Vision); and South Africa’s Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit (Inspiration and Action).
