Category: Dr Saleemul Huq Media
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Why emission reduction and resilience are two sides of the same coin
Under the UN, reduction of emissions(mitigation) and resilience (adapting to climate change impacts) are often treated as two discrete areas. But as the world is already experiencing the impacts of climate change — such as the recent ‘super cyclone’ and flooding in Bangladesh, or the wildfires in Australia — we are going to have to…
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A ten year journey to achieve resilience to climate change
In January 2021, the International Centre for Climate Change and Development at the Independent University, Bangladesh will be holding the 7th annual Gobeshona conference with an overall theme of starting a ten year journey to promote locally led adaptation towards resilience in Bangladesh, as well as in other vulnerable developing countries, including the Least Developed…
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Worsening floods linked to human induced climate change
As Bangladesh is inundated by severe floods not long after being hit by super cyclone Amphan, we are seeing the adverse impacts of human induced climate change in reality. It is therefore time to deal with this loss and damage from climate change more seriously, both at home as well as internationally. At the international…
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We must listen to the voices from the frontlines of the pandemic
One of the distinguishing features of the global Covid-19 pandemic has been to expose who the frontline workers around the world are and who the frontline victims of the pandemic are, both from the public health perspective and as a result of the impact of lockdown measures. In the developed countries, it has been the…
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Past, present, and future of locally led adaptation
The need for the world to adapt to the potential adverse impacts of human induced climate change has been known since the publication of the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2001. This was then followed by the 7th session of the Conference of Parties (COP7) in Marrakech, Morocco…
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Climate Change: Turning Bangladesh into the learning capital of the world
The adverse impacts of human induced climate change are already occurring around the world, including in Bangladesh. It is incumbent on all countries to gear up their ability to be better prepared for the impacts before they occur through enhancing adaptive capacity, and to also be prepared to deal with the loss and damage after…
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Tales of local resilience on the frontlines of COVID and climate change
Migrant workers and slumdwellers have received little official help during the pandemic, but are finding their own ways to cope As the months pass from the start of the COVID19 pandemic, the world is on a rapid learning curve about what, and who, really matters. In developed countries, there has been a recognition that often…
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Collaborative research can be integral to climate action
The government of the United Kingdom has had a very cordial relationship with Bangladesh since our independence and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has been a significant bilateral development partner for many years. DFID is currently in the process of designing a new, major five-year programme to support Bangladesh’s efforts to tackle climate…
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A paradigm shift in knowledge transfer on adaptation
The traditional North-South paradigm of technology transfer ignores the increasing importance of developing countries as sources of appropriate climate-friendly technologies The expressions of `knowledge’ or `technology transfer’ has traditionally evoked in us a unidirectional trajectory – from advanced, developed to developing countries, which are popularly called the `Global North’ and `Global South.’ This pathway has…
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Climate change budget must be used efficiently
Other vulnerable countries can learn from Bangladesh’s innovations
Earlier this month, the Finance Minister of Bangladesh presented a special Climate Change Budget as part of the national budget for the fiscal year 2020-21, which accounts for approximately 7.5 percent of the national budget. This is the fourth year in succession that the Climate Change Budget has been included to cover 25 different ministries…
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Climate change impacts are not taking time off because of Covid-19 crisis: Dr Saleemul Huq
Climate change and disaster risks are increasingly affecting the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) across the world. Bangladesh, a lower- middle-income country which graduated from the LDC status in 2015, is no exception. In this backdrop, the Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forests is executing the Formulation and Advancement of the National Adaptation Plan…
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Bangladesh can share crucial knowledge on locally led adaptation
Last week, Bangladesh formally took over the leadership of the group of nearly 50 countries in the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) for the next two years. The governance of the CVF is through a Troika system, with the current chair and the two previous chairs making collective decisions. Thus, the Minister of Marshall Islands as…