The escalated frequency and intensity of climatic events have severe consequences on economic growth in the country. Climate change affects the agriculture, health, infrastructure, energy and industry in Bangladesh. Experts said this in high level Multilogue on ‘Loss and Damage from Climate Change in Bangladesh’ at a local hotel on Thursday. The experts were engaged in a conversation on collective solutions that can reduce and manage loss and damage so that social, developmental and environmental gains are sustainable. The event jointly organised by ActionAid Bangladesh and the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) brought together government, business, academics, donors and multilaterals talking about the losses and damages from climate change faced by the country. “Loss and damage will occur if we do things badly. Climate change is going to make things more erratic,” said Dr. Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate and Development. “We have representation from researchers, academics, development organisations, government and private sectors as well. Somehow we need to come together on this issue,” said Farah Kabir from ActionAid Bangladesh. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) reduces vulnerabilities to hazards through better preparedness and management of resources while climate change adaptation (CCA) enhances resilience to climatic uncertainty. Loss and Damage (L&D) are the impacts of climate change that people cannot cope with or adapt to, she said. “For a long-term climate resiliency strategy, we need to have synergies between DRR, CCA, sustainable development, and L&D. Bangladesh experiences both economic (property, infrastructure) and non-economic (lives, ecosystems) losses and damage from climatic change. The losses and damages on business and society from climate change impacts cannot be ignored and there is a need to come up with adequate solutions to minimize and manage such losses and damages,” he added. “We will push this issue of loss and damage harder and forward and we need inputs from all stakeholders,” said Dr. Nurul Quadir Joint Secretary (Environment) of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry and member of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Multilogue Series is a dialogue initiative driven by ActionAid Bangladesh, in collaboration with Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR), to actively promote discussions about emerging disaster management and climate change issues. By continually engaging new and existing stakeholders, the goal is to develop comprehensive resiliency strategies. This Multilogue series was formed after the 2012 UN Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Sendai with the 1st session aimed to establish linkages between the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) and a post-Sendai framework for DRR. A crucial aspect of that process pertains to international governmental commitments and agreements that combat climate change, to establish a post-Kyoto Protocol framework which will be negotiated at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris this December, 2015.The second edition of the Multilogue series aims to further unpack the key elements of climate resiliency strategies leading into COP21 and beyond.
