A new study report on global warming warns that countries like Bangladesh are going to face more negative impacts of climate change including more severe droughts, sea-level rise and increasing risk of food and water security, if the current trends of carbon emission continues.
The research report states that without combined action, the planet would continue to warm and extreme weather events that today occur once in hundreds of years could become the “new climate normal,” causing increased risks and instability.
Mexico and Sub-Saharan African countries like Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia would also face similar consequences.
The report titled “4 Degrees Turn Down the Heat: Confronting the New Climate Normal” prepared by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics for the World Bank Group was released on Sunday.
It says Bangladesh is among the countries having the risks of increase in poverty headcount rate and risks of chronic poverty in different warming scenarios.
Affected social groups where hunger is expected to become prevalent are urban poor groups and urban wage labourers, residents of informal settlements and dwellers in rural hotspots.
It would have impact on food prices related to effects on productivity, employment and wages related to agriculture productivity in countries like Bangladesh, the report says.
The warming would cause reduction in availability of clean water supply and sanitation, while worsening flooding, drought, salt water intrusion, increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events, and population pressure, displacement and urbanisation in countries like Bangladesh.
Earlier, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s fifth assessment report on climate change suggested that the governments have to mainstream climate adaptation action into the national development planning, early warning systems and integrated water resources management, to face the challenge.
Dr Atiq Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), said Bangladesh had enough policy and documentation on how to take the adaptive measures but “there is lack of proper planning on the development initiatives.”
He suggested that the government consider the vulnerabilities like flood, cyclone and drought while taking development projects, otherwise the sectors like agriculture will be affected seriously which could damage the total food production in the country.
Bangladesh formulated a policy named Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) in 2009 which directs the detailed plan for all sectors including agriculture, food security and water to reduce the risk of climate change.
Under the policy, the government has formed two funds – Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) with its own resources and Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BBCRF) with the contribution of development partners.
Regarding the risk of flood for damaging agriculture sector, the government has been working to create linkage between disaster and agriculture which would reduce the risk of crops damaging, said Mohammad Abdul Wazed, director general of the Department of Disaster Management.
The Planning Commission has directed the ministries to focus disaster issue while taking development projects which would reduce the risk of vulnerability.
However, Wazed said the country should not be worried about the risk of disasters like cyclone and flood in terms of rescue and rehabilitation as “there is adequate knowledge.”
He also said the government had already incorporated the issue in the Sixth Five Year Plan with an aim to managing negative impacts of disasters.
Ahsan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of Centre for Global Changes (CGC), said the government should also allocate more funds for research purpose to develop climate resilient crop varieties.
