Tag: Climate Change
-
OPINION:COP27 will be the first U.N. climate summit in the era of loss and damage
The upcoming talks must agree to set up a funding facility to help countries deal with the growing harm caused by climate change impacts It has now been 30 years since the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1972 – and…
-
The ways to reinvent climate change adaptation in Bangladesh and beyond
Adaptation is more urgent than ever before as climate change-induced catastrophes sweep across the globe, mostly targeting the least developed entities and fragile ecosystems. More urgent, it seems, is the investment and effort needed to implement different types of adaptation to spearhead long-term solutions The global community has been citing Bangladesh as one of the…
-
Devastating climate impacts await coastal Bangladesh
The World Bank recently published a thorough analysis of various adverse impacts of human-induced climate change that will hit the coastal districts of Bangladesh over the coming decades, increasing the frequency and severity of coastal flood events. The estimated losses amount to USD 570 million every year going forward if measures are not taken to…
-
Make polluters pay for loss and damage from climate change
Over the last few weeks, a number of developments around the world has brought forth the need to hold polluters responsible for the loss and damage they have been causing the planet. The latest such event is the devastating floods in Pakistan, which has been scientifically attributed to human-induced climate change. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio…
-
Is the UNFCCC still relevant?
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed 30 years ago at the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by all the governments of the world. The first annual Conference of Parties (COP1) was held in Berlin, Germany, with the then Environment Minister of Germany, Angela Merkel, as COP President…
-
Possibilities of participatory visual research methods
A commentary from Bangladesh and Indian Sundarbans
The visual methods embedded in the Bangladesh and Indian Sundarbans seek to sketch issues of vivencia (lived experiences) representing climate change, uncertainty, and transformative actions in South Asia. Through these participatory visual action research techniques are told from the vantage points of women, youth islanders, and through children’s paintings, these methods tell mundane stories of…
-
Loss and Damage, what’s next from Scotland?
If the world is to tackle the worst impacts of climate change then progress must be made at a much quicker pace
For too long the issue of addressing Loss and Damage has remained in the margins of climate negotiations. The Warsaw International Mechanism and the Santiago Network have begun to assist with knowledge exchange and capacity building, yet distinct finance for addressing Loss and Damage has remained largely off the table while progress was made at…
-
Home is where the heart is
Statistics concerning climate change often conceal real people with real lives and real losses
Despite loss and damage from human-induced climate change getting attention at COP26, there has been little action to avert, minimize, and address the loss and damage experienced by those bearing the brunt of climate change. Climate change impacts everyone, but people will not all face this challenge in the same way, as its impacts are…
-
Climate change is a matter of human rights, too
The concept of human-induced climate change originated from the scientific community based on the periodic assessment reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was then picked up by policymakers at global levels. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was set up as a global treaty under which countries pledged…
-
OPINION: We need a clearer roadmap to a resilient food system
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…
-
Ensuring equity and justice to make the indigenous communities climate resilient
A reflection: The life and livelihood of the Garo and Hajong communities residing in Bangladesh
Climate change is a global concern in today’s time, and its impact on the vulnerable population such as women, children, indigenous people, and people with disabilities (PwD) exacerbates their existing social and economic challenges. For instance, the indigenous communities are more susceptible to extreme weather events compared to the non-indigenous groups as many of them…
-
The untold environmental catastrophe that is being caused by continuous sand mining
Sand mining — the silent killer of environment
Sand mining can be regarded as a silent threat to the global ecosystem, having a significant impact on climate change, if it is not done appropriately. Unsustainable sand mining could result in riverbank collapse, deepening of river beds, sinking deltas, and coastal erosion as well as biodiversity loss, especially when coupled with the impacts of…