DHAKA, June 9, 2021 (BSS) – The 54th meeting of the Board of Trustees of Bangladesh Climate Change was held today virtually, with Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin presiding over it.
The minister attended the meeting from his office room at the secretariat.
The meeting took important decisions including changing the type of projects funded by the trust fund to address the risks of climate change, an official release said.
Agriculture Minister Md Abdur Razzak, LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Farooq, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman, State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Fazilatun Nesa Indira, Deputy Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Habibun Nahar, prominent water resources and climate change expert Ainun Nishat and other members of the board attended the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Md Shahab Uddin said the government is continuing its efforts to invent jute bags as an alternative to environment polluting polythene bags.
“To this end, the government has provided necessary allocations to the concerned innovators through the Climate Change Trust Fund. Due to some limitations, it has not yet been possible to produce biodegradable polythene from jute for marketing. The inventor is expected to be able to do this by June 2022,” he said.
The environment minister further said if the use of biodegradable polythene as an alternative to jute could be introduced, a new horizon would be opened for the protection of the country’s environment.
Md Shahab Uddin added that despite the limited resources, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been making continuous efforts to address the impacts of climate change.
“In order to address the risks of climate change in Bangladesh, 789 projects have been undertaken with an estimated cost of Taka 3,362.32 crore till 2020 with the funding of Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund. The government is working sincerely for the proper implementation of these projects for the welfare of the people affected by climate change,” the minister said.