The European Parliament delegation meeting with Dr Hoesung LEE, Chairman of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) at COP26 in Glasgow (UK) and a delegation of the Parliament of Bangladesh which is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Statement by Saber CHOWDHURY, Member of the Parliament of Bangladesh.

European Parliament Delegation to COP26, Glasgow (UK): Meeting with Dr Hoesung LEE Chairman of the IPCC and a Parliamentary delegation of Bangladesh

Exteriors Glasgow and COP26 venue, 6 shots

Round table shots of meeting with the Chair of the IPCC, Dr Hoesung Lee and delegation, 13 shots

Meeting with parliamentary delegation from Bangladesh led by Saber Chowdhury, Member of the Parliament of Bangladesh, 8 shots

SOUNDBITE (English), Saber CHOWDHURY, Member of the Parliament of Bangladesh, We have the full impacts of climate change, so whether it is sea level rise leading to displacement, whether it's floods, whether it is cyclones with with greater intensity and greater frequency impacting food security. We have the full range of, the full spectrum of climate change impact.

SOUNDBITE (English), Saber CHOWDHURY, Member of the Parliament of Bangladesh, The climate change is a very formidable challenge, and it's forcing us back economically. It is pushing us back in terms of social cohesion when people are being uprooted from their lands that their ancestors have lived in. So it is a multifaceted challenge

SOUNDBITE (English), Saber CHOWDHURY, Member of the Parliament of Bangladesh,, What is happening in Bangladesh today may also happen in the countries of the European Union tomorrow. So I think there&rsquo;s a natural affinity. There's a natural bonding, there is a natural mindset when it comes to parliamentarians. We look for solidarity because we speak on behalf of the people and the European parliamentarians are also representing people. And then, of course, we want to push our own governments to do more. We want our parliamentary colleagues to push their governments to arrange for more funds for adaptation to help us to respond to climate change. We want The mitigation targets to be more ambitious. I think 1.5&deg;C is an absolute minimum.

SOUNDBITE (English), Saber CHOWDHURY, Member of the Parliament of Bangladesh, you see if you look at a map of Bangladesh, you got the Himalayas to the north, and you got the Bay of Bengal to the south, so what happens when the glaciers melt in the Himalayas? All that water flows through Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal, so we have flooding in the short term. So the water is coming in because the rivers can&rsquo;t carry that amount of water. In the medium to long-term, it means that we are going to run dry in terms of sources of freshwater. So it&rsquo;s going to be water scarcity. And the Himalayas as you know is not just Bangladesh it is also parts of India. And they are the water towers essentially for 700 to 800,000,000 people. So think if that source dries up, where will this huge population get their source of freshwater?