A. R. Salauddin Ferdous
Climate change is no longer a distant threat—it is a harsh reality and Bangladesh stands on the frontlines of its devastating impacts. The main cause of climate change is global warming. And one of the causes of global warming is greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are increasing the temperature of the earth day by day. The leading global authority on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate  Change (IPCC), has issued a warning stating that "there is very limited time left to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions in order to prevent catastrophic impacts on our planet." That is, if things continue as they are,everything will spiral out of control and there will be little opportunity left to take meaningful action. Dueto climate change, severe heat waves, droughts, floods, snowstorms, cyclones, tidal waves and various natural disasters are constantly occurring. These are posing a threat to human livelihoods and the overall economy.According to a recent UN report, global warming has increased the earth temperature by 0.6 degrees
Celsius in the last 100 years. The average temperature of the earth may increase by an additional 2.5 to5.5 degrees Celsius in the next 100 years. According to an IPCC report, if sea levels rise by 58 centimeters, low-lying island nations like the Maldives will disappear into the ocean by 2100. Climateresearchers believe that "if temperature increases can be kept to 1.5 degrees Celsius, major natural
disasters caused by climate change can be avoided." At the COP-27 conference held in Egypt, UNFCCCmember countries signed an agreement to establish a fund to provide financial assistance to poorcountries affected by climate change. However, the member countries could not reach a consensus on aninternational agreement to reduce carbon emissions and keep the global temperature increase within 1.5
degrees Celsius.Bangladesh is one of the countries that has suffered from natural disasters caused by climate change.dangerous countries. According to IPCC data, by 2050, if the sea level rises by 45 cm, 10-15 percent of the coastal land of Bangladesh will go underwater. An estimated 35 million people will lose their homes and cropland and become refugees. In addition, according to the United Nations, if the sea level rises by 3feet in the next 50 years, a large part of the coastal area of Bangladesh will be flooded.Natural disasters caused by climate change in Bangladesh include severe heatwaves, cyclones, storm surges, floods, droughts, nor'westers, tornadoes and excessive rainfall. In 1970, about 1 million people died in coastal tidal waves and cyclones in Bangladesh. In 2007, about 3 million people in about 28districts of the country were affected by Sidr, and in 2009, there was extensive damage in Aila. The floods in 1988, 1998, 2004, 2017 and 2022 caused extensive damage to people, animals, crops and houses in this country. River erosion is another major disaster in our country. Additionally, nor westers occur in various parts of Bangladesh during the months of Chaitra and Baishakh, and droughts, particularly in the northwestern regions, are common at this time. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh will receive 30 percent of the global aid to combat the harmful effects of future climate change. But so far, this compensation has not been given to Bangladesh.Meanwhile, the various steps taken by the Bangladesh government have made a significant contribution to combating climate change and have achieved considerable success. Various organizations and governments around the world are working to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts. However, much work remains to be done to combat climate change. Although a country should have 25 percent of its total land area covered by forests, the country's current forest area is about 2.3 million hectares, which
is 15.58 percent of the total land area. Trees keep our world's environment cool and act as the biggest means of preventing warming. There is no alternative to planting trees to prevent global warming. Let us build a social movement around tree planting, plant more trees and resist indiscriminate tree felling and forest destruction. By making conscious efforts in our respective capacities, we can together secure a sustainable future and protect our lives and livelihoods.