Independent University, Bangladesh hosted the inaugural event of the ‘Preserve Planet Earth International Climate Change Conference’ on Saturday.
The conference, which is the first of its kind, brought together experts and stakeholders to focus on turning emerging actionable solutions into investment and employment opportunities to deal with rising global temperatures and reducing the use of fossil fuels, said a press release.
‘Aiming to turn challenges into opportunities, we need to amplify our climactic sustainability game with strategic resource management and impactful investment on preservative measures,’ said Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, also prime pinister Sheikh Hasina’s special envoy for climate change in a video message.
‘Investing in learning provides the leverage of expertise and sustainable research findings or innovative solutions will never find itself in lack of adequate funding,’ said prof Dr Saleemul Huq, director of International Centre for Climate Change and Development at IUB.
Chairman of the IUB Board of Trustees Abdul Hai Sarker said that IUB had always consistently demonstrated its commitment to fostering positive changes and addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing our world.
IUB Trustee A Quaiyum Khan, convenor of the conference and moderator of the inaugural session, said that as much as 79 per cent of global warming was due to fossil fuel-produced electricity. This was alarming and catastrophic without a solution.
IUB vice-chancellor Tanweer Hasan said that with the establishment of the climate fund and the emergence of the doctrine of loss of damage, they needed to prepare students with specific technical skills.
Ayesha Waseqa Khan, MP, vice-chairperson of Climate Parliament Bangladesh, prof Saifur Rahman, president and CEO of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Dr Sebastian Groh, founder and managing director of Solshare (BD) Ltd, IUB Alumnus Wahidul Hasan, who secured a prestigious NASA grant for space battery development, renowned scientist Dr Mubarak Ahmad Khan, inventor of the famous jute polymer, now known worldwide as ‘Sonali Bag’, and Ambassador Tariq Karim, director of IUB’s Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies also spoke the event.
The event saw the presence of the High Commissioners from Brunei, Sri Lanka, and Maldives; Ambassadors from Bhutan, Nepal, and France as well as representatives from the Canadian and Indian Embassies in Dhaka, the European Union, and various UN organisations. source : new age
