Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid launched an attack on Western countries regarding the climate issue, saying that these countries talk a lot about the climate but do nothing, and they do not keep their promises.

Bangladesh lies on fertile depressions, where the population density is concentrated in river deltas, and it is one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, but the movements of the countries responsible for emissions are not commensurate with the seriousness of the situation, according to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister.

Westerners "do not move, they speak but they do not move," Sheikh Hasina said, adding, "They are responsible for the damage, but they do nothing, it is a tragedy," referring to the promises of rich countries that have not been fulfilled.

This came in an interview with Agence France-Presse on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where Sheikh Hasina stressed that "Western countries simply want to become richer, and do not care about others."

Bangladesh is facing rising sea levels and flooding, but like the bulk of developing countries it is not responsible for the pre-industrial average warming currently of 1.2 degrees Celsius.

"We do not produce (greenhouse gases) but are victims of emissions and warming," Sheikh Hasina said, adding, "It is very unfortunate," noting in particular the "threats" and suffering facing small island states that "could disappear."

empty promises

In the face of growing threats, southern governments decry the empty promises of developed countries, particularly the unfulfilled promise to increase aid to $100 billion annually in 2020 so that the poorest countries can reduce their emissions and prepare for the impacts.

But the hot topic two months before the COP 27 climate conference in Egypt is related to "loss and damage", such as the devastation caused by historic floods in Pakistan.

"We have asked for donations, we want the funds to be raised, but unfortunately we did not get a positive response from the developed countries," the Bangladeshi prime minister said.

"They talk a lot, make promises, everything is fine, but we do not notice any movement, and we do not get money," Sheikh Hasina added. "But it is the responsibility of developed countries, and it is their duty to help the victims."


Rohingya crisis

She stressed that she would do "what she can alone" even without international assistance in the field of climate as well as the thorny file of Rohingya refugees.

Some 750,000 Rohingya Muslims fled a deadly military offensive in Myanmar in 2017 and arrived in neighboring Bangladesh.

Bangladesh was originally hosting more than 100,000 Rohingya who were displaced during previous crackdowns launched by Myanmar against this Muslim minority.

The Rohingya live in overcrowded camps that lack decent sanitary conditions, and refuse to return to Myanmar without citizenship rights and security guarantees.

But the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, warned last August that "conditions for return are not met" in Myanmar, which is ruled by a military group, despite Bangladesh's repeated requests.

"Painful" conditions

"All the burden falls on us," Sheikh Hasina said, stressing that the Rohingya live in "painful" conditions in camps in Bangladesh, "especially women and children." COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine.

While Bachelet noted "the heightened intensity of anti-Rohingya rhetoric", Sheikh Hasina emphasized that the citizens of Bangladesh were "not angry, but uncomfortable".

On allowing the Rohingya to settle in more sustainable conditions in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina said, "It is not possible to give them space because they want to return to their country."

"It's everyone's priority, we should all try to get them to go back to their land and go about their lives," she added.

And she continued, "If anyone wants to receive them, let him do so."