UNB, Dhaka :
Prof. Ainun Nishat, an eminent water resources and climate change expert, has joined a Bangladeshi school girl’s campaign to implement the Bangladesh Planetary Emergency Declaration and incorporate climate education in school curriculum.
Prof. Ainun has signed a petition launched by 14-year-old Aruba Faruque, a student of Noakhali Govt. Girls’ High School, who has been termed as the “Greta Thunberg of Bangladesh” by The Sustainable Hour, a radio station based in Australia.
This was confirmed by Fridays for Future Bangladesh founding member Sohanur Rahman said this on Tuesday
Aruba launched the petition on March 19, 2021, the day of Fridays For Future Global day of Climate Strike.
The petition was addressed to Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
The Petition is the first-yet National Petition launched by an under-18 citizen of Bangladesh and has already collected 2000 signatures till 27th of June through both online and in person circulations.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP and chairperson of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said they are working on a preliminary meeting on developing a roadmap to implement Planetary Emergency.
He hopes to finalise the schedule by first week of July.
Aruba Faruque said the Bangladesh Parliament commendably adopted a Planetary Emergency Declaration, back on Wednesday 13 November 2019, but not much has happened in the 18 months since then.
She said, “I knew we had to let the political leaders realize we urgently need serious action now and I realized that our schools must do a far better job in educating young people, at all grade levels, about the extent of dangers posed by the climate crisis and the 6th mass extinction of species. The idea of a petition then just naturally came to me.”
Considering the youth climate movement, the Jatiya Sangsad on November 13, 2019 unanimously adopted a resolution for the declaration of a Planetary Emergency aiming to grow global awareness for saving the earth from its existential crisis of climate change, devastating impact of the disasters and increase in extreme weather events.
The declaration came at a time when the earth continued facing the irreparable loss of biodiversity, looming food insecurity, rising water crisis, unprecedented pressure on oceans and unsustainable use of resources.
Previously, on June 3, 2021, this petition was signed by Prof. Saleemul Huq, one of the world’s top climate scientists and awardee of the 2020 National Environment Award.
The petition is available here for signing and sharing (https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/implement-the-bangladesh-planetary-emergency-declaration-and-incorporate-climate-education-in-school-curriculum).
