It is an alarming issue that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in a study has predicted that by 2050, 17 percent of Bangladesh’s territory will be submerged by rising sea levels, resulting in a loss of 30 percent of the country’s agricultural land.
The study also apprehends this will compel coastal communities to migrate into cities, where they are likely to be subjected to poor living conditions and unemployment.
Bangladesh ranks ninth worldwide among countries at the highest risk of climate-induced disasters such as tropical cyclones, tornadoes, floods, coastal and riverbank erosion, droughts, and landslides.
The ILO released report 2024-26 on the Asia-Pacific chapter apparently looks like a mix bag of socio-economic developments.
It can hardly make the people in the region, particularly people of Bangladesh, optimistic about their future.
Furthermore, it is concerning that though many countries in this region are experiencing a high vulnerability to climate change, yet they have low effective coverage.
Social protection will play a vital role in supporting climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, and in facilitating a just transition, enhancing the resilience of all, and especially vulnerable communities.
The ILO report has focused on mitigation of the climate-induced impacts and the people’s adaptability to those with particular emphasis on the vulnerable groups among them.
However, the ILO has praised the milestone of social protection covering 53.6 percent of the population — which incidentally is above the global average of 52.4 per cent — in the region achieved in 2023.
But these social benefits are unevenly distributed across the region as well as in a country like Bangladesh.
An idea of the enormity of the problem can be drawn from the fact that 2.1 billion people in the region ‘remain unprotected against various lifecycle and socio-economic risks’.
In Bangladesh, the problem of uneven distribution of social-benefit funds is likely to be delicate.
Bangladesh and other countries in the region have to take measures for coping with the climate catastrophe.
However, the preventive measures which are a global responsibility to obviate the impact of the planet’s warming due to carbon emission are perhaps more important in restoring environmental health.
Countries which are on top of the list of climate vulnerability with Bangladesh are the least polluters but worst victims.
They must be given the climate adaptability fund promised by the rich and industrialist nations.
It is no charity but the vulnerable nations’ right to claim compensation from those who are primarily responsible for the planet’s in mitigating climate crisis.