It’s Time for Women to Get Their Share of the Due
When I asked a group of women what their profession was, every single one of them said: “I am a homemaker.” But anyone who has seen them working knows the truth. They spend hours every day in the fields. When I asked if they ever went to the field to work, they told me about weeding, watering, harvesting, and threshing …
It’s time we help them by listening to their needs
In a small village in Botiaghata, Khulna, Sanchita Bishwas described with pride the plots she now manages. “Watermelon grows across the land, bitter gourd frames the borders, and rui fish swim in the pond beside it,” she told me, a smile lighting up her face. It was her own way of making the most of what little she has. Her …
A pathway to strengthen labour rights and harness climate adaptation in the apparel sector of Bangladesh
In the last few weeks, there has been an alarming rise in heatwaves. According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), temperatures are expected to rise above 40°C in parts of Bangladesh. In 2024, the warmest temperature on record broke previous trends. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) defines a heatwave as a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, often lasting up …
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guitterez, has been holding an annual Climate Action Summit on the margins of the UN General Assembly in September each year. He invites world leaders to come and share what they are doing to tackle climate change, the biggest human-induced global crisis. Over the years, his language to describe the situation has become …
Watch Prof Saleemul Huq’s comments on the news of the G-20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi. Find the full clip link.
The litmus test of success for the U.N. climate summit will be the creation of an urgently needed fund to help the most vulnerable people. Open letter to the incoming president of the COP28 U.N. climate summit Dear Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Let me thank you for inviting me to join the Advisory Committee for the COP28 Presidency, which will …
A conversation from COP27 on inclusive locally led adaptation. When it comes to climate change adaptation in affected communities, top-down approaches where international- and national-level decision-makers drive interventions do not work. In recognition of this, efforts to promote locally led adaptation (LLA) have been growing steadily and in August 2022, over 100 organisations endorsed eight core principles to strengthen the …
The lights are out here in my home city of Dhaka as I write these words. Cyclone Sitrang has knocked out the electricity in Bangladesh’s capital, plunging much of this city of 22 million people into darkness. But one thing we Bangladeshis are not in the dark about is climate change. We understand that overheating the planet has made cyclones—or hurricanes, as …
As climate change hits farmers and those who depend on them, creating a smarter food system is now critical Each year the country presiding over the UN Climate Summit – which this year is Egypt – can choose key areas in which to raise ambition through the ‘presidency programme’. The news that Egypt has chosen to add an ‘adaptation and …
I have just spent two weeks in Bonn, Germany attending the Subsidiary Bodies meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in preparation for the 27th Conference of Parties (CoP 27) to be held in Sharm Al Shaikh, Egypt in November this year. I have been participating in these meetings since 1992 and it is depressing to …
