Climate change affects the whole world but because of the geographic location, Bangladesh has long been in the eye of the storm. Here the curse of climate change hits in the form of rising sea level, natural disasters, economic breakdown, prolonged monsoon, frequent changes in weather pattern, temperature and so on.
According to a World Bank report, Bangladesh’s average annual temperature is predicted to increase by 1.0°C to 2.5°C. Experts envisage that such a rise in temperature will not only cost Bangladesh 6.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product and lower the living standards of more than one-third of its population by 2050. It will also have a massive impact on environment, livelihood, irrigation, ecology and biodiversity.
Bangladesh has done almost nothing to cause global warming unlike first world countries like the USA, Australia and Canada who bear a great deal of responsibility for carbon emission already in the atmosphere. Nevertheless, the country has to pay a much steeper price because of its geographical location.
The world is now going through a situation where the most
vulnerable countries, which deserve the highest level of priority,
are failing to access support that is being realised
The world is now going through a situation where the most vulnerable countries, which deserve the highest level of priority, are failing to access support that is being realised. Major emitters show extreme reluctance on mitigation, which may wreck the international climate regime and put the climate vulnerable countries like Bangladesh at peril.
As developed countries are accountable for the severe consequences of climate change, they must provide with necessary financial, technological and intellectual support to the developing countries following the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change. Moreover, developing countries like Bangladesh need a global commitment to face climate challenges.
The need for formulating a coherent and research-backed policy to address the adverse impacts of climate change should be addressed by the international community in no time. At the national level, our government should do whatever necessary for increasing the budget allocation to tackle the impacts of climate change. Also, there is a need to prioritise the districts vulnerable to climate change and establish a district-level funding mechanism focusing on capacity building of women, young people and children.