Tackling climate change should not be our burden

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury stating that Bangladesh needs $ 534 billion to address climate change impact by 2050 shows just how dire the situation is for certain countries, with Bangladesh being among the most susceptible to the effects of climate change.

While Bangladesh must be applauded for continuing to take steps to address the climate crisis, the fact remains that this is the fault of developed nations in the Global North who, through their emissions, have brought about the climate crisis.

It is therefore imperative for the Global South, nations who are disproportionately affected by climate change through little fault of their own to continue to stay united and demand that richer nations pay for their actions.

For countries like Bangladesh, it is therefore imperative that we continue to receive international financial support so that we are able to have the right capacity to enact the necessary climate actions required to safeguard the country and the people from the worst of its effects.

It is also important that, once we secure funding, that we are able to use it effectively, so that it has maximum impact. Too often we have failed to make effective use of funds, falling into the trap of taking shortsighted decisions that have yielded little long term outcomes for the good of the nation. This cannot be allowed when it comes to dealing with climate change.

Despite an increasingly volatile world, climate change remains the single greatest existential threat to humanity. Bangladesh cannot fight against it alone, and given the developed world's role in causing climate change, it has a moral imperative to assist nations such as Bangladesh in this fight.