Climate change: Bangladeshi President calls for changing lifestyle

The president of Bangladesh, Zillur Rahman, has urged all concerned to bring changes in their lifestyle so that the environment can be saved from the dire damages of the climate change.

‘Let us work unitedly for presenting a safe and habitable world to our posterity,’ he said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a seminar on ‘A new lease of life for Asthma patients’ at a city hotel on Friday.

The ministry of environment and forests, UNDP, UNEP, Bangladesh Lung Foundation, Ozone Secretariat, Mutual Fund and Implementation Committee of the Montreal Protocol and the Beximco Pharmaceutical Limited jointly organised the seminar.

Zillur put emphasis on collective efforts to protect entire environment from atmospheric pollution for ensuring survival of the civilisation.

‘It needs collective efforts to protect entire environment from atmospheric pollution with a view to surviving the civilisation,’ he said.

He also urged the world community to uphold the spirit of the Montreal Protocol in their works and actions. ‘I believe that the world community would extend their cooperation for the sake of entire mankind,’ he said.

Zillur said the Beximco Pharmaceutical Limited had inducted HFA (Hydrofluoroalkane)-based Inhaler for the Asthma and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases) patients and also taken initiatives for awareness building programme among the masses.

‘I believe it is an important step towards reducing Chlorofluorocarbon in producing CFC free Inhaler in Pharmaceutical Industries in Bangladesh,’ the president said.

   He said ‘as you all know that Chlorofluorocarbon, one of the greenhouse gases, destroys not only Ozone layer but also increases atmospheric temperature.’

Referring to prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s concerns raised at the 3rd Global Climate Conference in Geneva and also in UN General Assembly recently, Zillur said she also called upon the world leaders to extend their cooperation and work together in protecting the developing countries from the adverse effects of the climate change.

‘In this backdrop, we, including developed countries, have to take more pragmatic initiatives to reduce the use of CFC and other greenhouse gases in balancing the atmospheric temperature,’ he added.

Congratulating the foreign delegates for joining this important seminar in Bangladesh, he said that their continued support and cooperation in this regard would surely help maintain CFC free environment.

‘It would also be a tremendous stride in the process of attaining the well-being of human race and environment,’ he added.

Managing director of Beximco Pharmaceutical Limited Nazmul Hasan MP, UNDP resident representative Renata Dessallien, president of the Implementation Committee of the Montreal Protocol Robyn Washbourne, chairman of the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund Husamuddin Ahmadzai, Gilbert Bankobeza of the Ozone Secretariat and Rajendra Shende of the UNEP, among other, spoke on the occasion.