Global Warming and Climate Change
Global warming is accelerating rapidly. Already, many countries, ecosystems and people are suffering from its impacts. Global warming has affected our weather patterns and disrupted our variability and trends in climate. This is resulting in an increase in climate related extreme events like heavy rainfall, flood, cyclone, storm surge, etc. These claim thousands of lives, destroy billions of dollar worth of properties and disrupt live hoods of hundreds of millions of people.
In 2006, Sir Nicholas Stern, in his review, Economics of Climate Change demonstrated that the cost of inaction now, in both greenhouse gas emissions reductions as well as adapting to climate change, will result in damages and losses of many proportion. Science has confirmed that the future impacts of global warming and climate change will have severe and far reaching consequences for today's generations and many more to follow.
The minimum standards for any future regime to curb global warming and respond effectively to climate impacts must include compensation for the victims, and resources to reduce vulnerability, adapt to or manage future risks.
How to prevent dangerous climate? Who should limit their emissions, how much, and by when? Who should bear the responsibilities of those already affected or support those at risk to minimize losses?
To understand how global warming and climate change will impact the whole world in future, influence its development aspirations and chart its road map for sustainable development, three considerations are critical, location of Bangladesh(among south Asia) is in a plain of major river basin, making it susceptible to floods and cyclones. The country is extremely populated in a small area, and one of the most densely populated in the world. The country is very poor and a majority live below subsistence level, making them already vulnerable.
Impacts of climate change- the poorest are hit earliest and hardest.
Poorer people are more susceptible to the destruction caused by hurricanes and flooding for a variety of reasons. The poor typically live in substandard housing that is more susceptible to damage from wind, heavy rain and floodwater. Substandard or non-existent sewage facilities and lack of potable water in poor neighborhoods can result in greater exposure to water-borne diseases after flooding. Areas that are historically prone to flooding or mudslides are often inhabited by the poor.
