During a "virtual visit" to Bangladesh on Tuesday, the UK's International Environment Minister Lord Goldsmith has rightly said that developing countries like Bangladesh are the hardest hit by climate change and Bangladesh's effort on climate front is an example for the world to follow.
Bangladesh is recognised internationally for its cutting-edge achievements in addressing climate change. Despite the considerable progress that Bangladesh has made over the last decade, the country faces continuous challenges associated with climate change.
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 forms of rising sea level, natural disasters, economic breakdown, prolonged monsoon, frequent changes in weather pattern and temperature and so on.
As developed countries are accountable for the severe
consequences of climate change, they must provide
necessary financial, technological and intellectual
support to the developing countries.
Reportedly, at least 33 districts in the country are under constant risk of flood due to the adverse impact of climate change while some 134 million people in Bangladesh are at risk of declining living standards as a result of erratic climate change.
It is envisaged that Bangladesh will need billions of dollars over the next decade to deal with the existing and upcoming severities of climate change. Bangladesh has done almost nothing to cause global warming unlike America, Australia and Canada as they bear a great deal of responsibility for the emissions already in the atmosphere.
As developed countries are accountable for the severe consequences of climate change, they must provide necessary financial, technological and intellectual support to the developing countries following the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change. Moreover, developing countries like Bangladesh needs a global commitment to face climate challenges.
Considering the situation, international community should realise the need for formulating coherent and research-backed policy to address the adverse impacts of climate change. Also at the national level, our government should do the needful for increasing budget allocation to tackle the impacts of climate change.
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. At the same time, green jobs at the rural and semi-urban areas should be promoted, which will not only contribute to decreasing vulnerability posed by climate change but also accelerate our national economic growth.
