Bangladesh has suffered from a number of climate change-related calamities this year. From devastating floods to record-breaking heat waves, the fatal effects of climate change -- especially when it comes to vulnerable nations like Bangladesh -- are all too clear.
As such, the Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change's appeal to the international community for collaborative financial mechanisms to help nations like Bangladesh achieve climate adaptation is one that developed nations must heed, especially given the role they have played in paving the way towards climate change to begin with.
The effects of climate change are apparent the world over. From recording the highest temperatures in the history of our existence to the unprecedented melting of the polar caps, climate change is hard to ignore. And yet, there have been almost zero attempts at adopting sustainable measures to safeguard our future.
Agreements, like the Paris climate accord, have turned into nothing but mere lip service, and with countries like the US doubling down on fossil fuel extraction, things can only get worse.
This is where community-based financial mechanisms come in. It is no secret that even developed nations stand to fare far better when it comes to dealing with the repercussions of climate change, even as they continue to exploit the planet more than others. When it comes to coastal nations like Bangladesh, however, the scenario changes drastically. Even on a financial front, developed nations have the financial capabilities to combat climate, and it is incredibly important that reparations be made to vulnerable nations such as Bangladesh for the precariousness that these developed nations have subjected us to.
Developed, heavily industrialized nations have to pay up for all the damage they have done, climate grants alone are not enough anymore.