Diplomatic Correspondent

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday said the world needs a new economic framework in an effort to tackle the climate crisis and create a new civilisation that works for the earth and people.

The chief adviser made the call during a LDC high-level meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the COP29 summit in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku.

Leaders of five major climate-vulnerable least developed countries—Nepal, Malawi, Gambia, Liberia, and Bangladesh—joined the closed-door meeting.

"We need a new economic framework that serves the planet and the people," the Chief Adviser said, adding that he backs the UN-sponsored Summit for the Future to create an economic order for the world's young people.

"We have created an economic framework broadly based on consumption, and it only generates waste, waste and waste. We need to create a world of zero waste," Professor Yunus said.

The chief adviser said the COP climate conference should not be held every year.

"We know what the world needs, and we should make a long-term plan for that. It should be country-specific. And we have to make the plan for long-term mitigation," Professor Yunus said.

"We don’t need to meet here every year. Meeting every year to negotiate is time-consuming, wasteful, and humiliating."

The chief adviser also called for a new approach to climate negotiations, as the current approach has largely failed to meet the needs of much of the world.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the LDCs faced the greatest injustice as far as climate change is concerned.

"We want to tell you that we care about you," Guterres said, adding that the LDCs need to do hard negotiations and "serious mechanism” to secure a bigger fund from big economies for climate adaptation and mitigation.