AID worker Nushrat Chowdhury, from Bangladesh, knows only too well how climate change can claim lives and devastate livelihoods.
“I have worked in the humanitarian sector for many years now and I have seen what happens after disasters,” said Chowdhury, who is Christian Aid’s climate justice advisor and lives in Dhaka.
“From 2007 and 2021 there have been ten cyclones in my country. It is a very small country and we have two cyclone seasons so the entire coast is very vulnerable. It is projected that around 17% of land is at risk by 2050 due to sea level rise.”
She is travelling to Glasgow this week for the COP26 summit on climate change and, with others from the Global South, will be pushing for compensation for climate change loss and damage, along with funds for adaptation and mitigation.
“The countries which have been contributing to climate change need to compensate countries experiencing loss and damage,” said Chowdhury. “But when it comes to compensation, countries with global leaders are not very big fans. We are saying that if you don’t want to talk about compensation, talk about justice and solidarity. They need to acknowledge loss and damage as a core climate justice position and there should be support in terms of finance for loss and damage. Contributions should be based on historic emissions, solidarity and equity so that who needs the funds most will get them.”
Chowdhury (below) pointed out that monetary commitments made at the 2015 COP have not been kept and, contrary to what is sometimes claimed, countries in the Global South have been investing in adaptation and mitigation as far as their funds will allow.
“Bangladesh has been investing in adaptation and disaster prevention for many years now,” she said. “Every year they spend 5-7% of the budget – around one billion US dollars – for adaptation only. Even after this investment we are going to lose 17% of the land.
“Many people are farmers and the sea level rises are already very difficult because, when the saline water comes, it becomes very hard to grow crops. Farmers and fishermen are moving to cities like Dhaka and ending up living in slums.”
Bangladesh has been hard hit by both cyclones and the pandemic over the last 18 months.
“We had one cyclone last year and one this year, so on top of the pandemic it was a double whammy,” said Chowdhury. “People were already without work because of the lockdown and, when the cyclones happened, many lost everything.”
The Government was now “trying very hard” to vaccinate the population.
“People are eager to get vaccinated because it is a very populous country and if one person is affected the whole family becomes ill, so they understand the importance very well,” she said.
Chowdhury acknowledges that it is not only countries in the Global South that are suffering disasters caused by climate change, but says the difference is that richer countries have the funds to be able to mitigate the crisis.
“The Global South does not have the capacity to respond and this is the difference,” she said. “At COP26 we are expecting intense discussion from a justice perspective. It is not like they are giving the global south help or support – this is due.”
As Christian Aid’s policy adviser, Chowdhury aims to raise awareness about climate justice and give the unheard a voice. Christian Aid has worked in her country since 1972, following the Liberation War. The charity works in the most vulnerable districts on disaster risk management, climate change, resilient livelihoods, emergency preparedness and response, inclusive market development, gender and social equity.
The programme works towards creating deep and lasting change in socially and economically excluded communities, including Dalit and ethnic-minority communities and with single women in highly climate-vulnerable areas. The goal of the programme is to ensure that communities participate fully in vital decisions that shape their lives, thrive in building their resources and capacity to respond successfully to opportunities and the risks they face, and ultimately lift themselves out of poverty.
Chowdhury will be taking part in an event taking place at Glasgow Film Theatre during COP26 about vulnerable communities on the front line of climate change.
For more information visit cop26coalition.org/peoples-summit/climate-induced-loss-damage-impacts-and-climate-justice-solutions-at-cop26-4/
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