NEW YORK, September 24: Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has called on the international community to take urgent and effective action to address the growing threat of rising sea levels. He said the crisis is not only a threat to coastal land and the environment, but is also linked to people’s homes, livelihoods, security and future. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister addressed the “High-level Meeting to Address the Existential Threats Posed by Sea-Level Rise” at Conference Room 4 of the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The meeting was held as part of the high-level week of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, focusing on the risks posed by rising sea levels and international cooperation to address them. At the beginning of his speech, Tarique Rahman thanked the President of the United Nations General Assembly for convening the meeting. He also expressed his appreciation to the co-facilitators who worked on the “Declaration on Sea-Level Rise” and called for its commitments to be translated into concrete action. Highlighting Bangladesh’s reality, he said Bangladesh is an active delta, with hundreds of rivers flowing into the sea and a large number of people living close to water. As a result,...