Senior British lawmaker and former health minister Frank Dobson has called for worldwide action to rein in climate change and save the most vulnerable countries like Bangladesh.

Long-term climate adaptation plans on a 'vast scale' side by side with immediate measures could save Bangladesh from disastrous consequences. "Nothing else will do," Dobson said during a five-hour debate on climate change in the House of Commons on Thursday.

The Labour Party legislator spoke focusing on Bangladesh and termed it "the most vulnerable" country, according to the UK parliament website.

Dobson told the House of Commons, "It is clear that the climate is changing and that in most parts of the world it is changing for the worse. I wish to concentrate my attention on the one place that is most vulnerable to climate change and has the largest population at risk--Bangladesh, a country a little larger than England and with nearly three times our population."

He said Bangladesh had long shown tremendous resilience in the face of natural disasters.

"In the face of those natural disasters, over the centuries the people of Bangladesh have shown a resilience unmatched anywhere else on earth with the possible exception of Holland. Land lost to the rivers or the sea has been reclaimed, new crops planted and replacement homes built. More recently, with help from the UK and other donor governments, limited steps have been taken to provide storm refuges and lift the level of the land."

The British lawmaker went on, "Until very recently, all that happened in response to occasional, sudden and rather unpredictable crises. Not any more. Climate change threatens to melt the snows and glaciers of the Himalayas more quickly than in the past, and it is likely to affect the monsoons and increase the frequency of the cyclones. Above all, it threatens an inexorable rise in sea level. That is not just a future threat--it is causing problems now in Bangladesh. "

Dobson praised British government's climate pledges to Bangladesh. The UK is already providing £75 million to support climate change adaptation and has committed another £100 million in coming years to help people maintain livelihoods in areas most vulnerable to climate change, he said.

"Those are immediate measures intended to deal with the problems that are arising now, but the longer-term protection of the people of Bangladesh will require funds and attention on an altogether vaster scale," he said.

"Otherwise, about half the population of Bangladesh--70 million people-- could be affected by flooding every year and a tenth of the low-lying land could be lost for ever. Therefore, vast civil engineering works will be required: villages must be raised above flood levels; more flood and cyclone centres need to be built; embankments must be raised; and probably equally importantly, crops capable of coping with the occasional ingress of salt and brackish water must be developed," Dobon said.