United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh incurs an annual GDP loss of 1–2% due to climate change-induced disasters such as floods, droughts, cyclones, tidal surges and heatwaves. Despite limited resources, the government has been implementing numerous initiatives to address these challenges. However, long-term, sustainable measures and continued support from development partners remain critical. These observations were shared at the closing ceremony of the project “Climate-Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Community Life in the Haor Region of Bangladesh”, known as giz-Haor, held at PKSF Bhaban in the city. The project was implemented by Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) with funding from the German government. The event was chaired by PKSF Chairman Zakir Ahmed Khan, with Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, secretary of the Economic Relations Division, attending as the chief guest.  Fahmida Khanom, additional secretary (Environment Wing) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Ulrich Kleppmann, deputy head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Bangladesh, were present as special guests. Joint consultation on single monitoring and compliance system held at BGMEA PKSF Managing Director Md Fazlul Kader delivered the welcome address. Presentations were given by PKSF Deputy Managing Director Fazle Rabbi Sadeque Ahmed and General Manager  AKM Nuruzzaman. Secretary Shahriar highlighted that the government has implemented over 800 projects through the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund and allocates 6–7% of the national budget annually to address climate change impacts. He noted that Bangladesh’s two Direct Access Entities to the Green Climate Fund—PKSF and IDCOL—have secured USD 447.3 million for nine projects and eight capacity-building initiatives. He expressed hope that PKSF would scale up its interventions to expand the positive outcomes of the giz-Haor project. The PKSF chairman emphasised the organisation’s commitment to transparency, integrity, and rigorous monitoring, which ensures the effectiveness and quality of its interventions. He affirmed PKSF’s continued efforts to promote sustainable and inclusive development by strengthening the adaptive capacities of climate-vulnerable communities.  Kleppmann shared that the German government is currently supporting 53 development projects in Bangladesh and reiterated Germany’s long-term commitment to climate and development cooperation. Fahmida stated that addressing climate change cannot be the responsibility of the government alone. “This can only be achieved through collective action involving the government, private sector, and NGOs,” she stressed. The PKSF managing director highlighted that PKSF, as a Direct Access Entity to both the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund, is undertaking various initiatives to combat floods, droughts, and salinity. “Our efforts are improving the resilience of vulnerable communities by promoting sustainable agriculture, water resource management, and disaster risk reduction,” he added. Under the giz-Haor project, climate-resilient infrastructure such as CC block revetments and retaining walls were constructed in three unions of Sunamganj district to protect homes from flash flood-induced erosion. As a result, approximately 7,500 families are now safeguarded. Additionally, elevated community spaces have enhanced food storage capabilities, boosting the economic resilience of poor households. Tree plantations along the protective structures have also contributed to biodiversity conservation. In total, 1.54 kilometers of protective walls were built in Jamalganj and Derai upazilas.

This past year has seen a horrific flood that submerged one-third of Pakistan, one of the three costliest U.S. hurricanes on record, devastating droughts in Europe and China, a drought-triggered famine in Africa and deadly heat waves all over. Yet this wasn’t climate change at its worst. With all that death and destruction in 2022, climate-related disaster damages are down from 2021, according to insurance and catastrophe giant Swiss Re. That’s the state of climate change in the 2020s that $268 billion in global disaster costs is a 12% drop from the previous year, where damage passed $300 billion. The number of U.S. weather disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage is only at 15 through October and will likely end the year with 16 or 17, down from 22 and 20 in the last two years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But because of Hurricane Ian, overall damage amounts are probably going to end up in the top three in American history. Weather disasters, many but not all of them turbocharged by human-caused climate change, are happening so frequently that this year’s onslaught, which 20 years ago would have smashed records by far, now in some financial measures seems a bit of a break from recent years. Welcome to the new abnormal. “We’ve almost gotten used to extremes. And this year compared to many years in the past would be considered a pretty intense year, but compared to maybe the most extreme years, like a 2017, 2020 and 2021, it does look like ... a slight adjustment down,” said NOAA applied meteorologist and economist Adam Smith, who calculates the billion dollar disasters for the agency. “We’re just getting used to it but that’s not a good way to move into the future.” Read: 'With enough foreign funding, Bangladesh can do more to face climate risks' Wildfires in the United States weren’t as costly this year as the last couple years, but the Western drought was more damaging than previous years, he said. America’s billion dollar disasters in 2022 seemed to hit every possible category except winter storms: hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, heat waves, hail storms and even a derecho. When it comes to 2022’s financial damages globally and the United States, Ian, which walloped Florida, was the big dog, even though Pakistan’s flooding was more massive and deadly. In terms of just looking at dollars not people, Ian’s damages eclipsed the drought-triggered African famine that affected more people. It also overshadowed river levels in China and Europe that dropped to levels so low it caused power and industrial problems and the heat waves in Europe,India and North America that were deadly and record-breaking. Smith said NOAA hasn’t finished calculating the damages from Ian yet, but there’s a good chance it will have more than $100 billion in damage, pushing past 2012’s Superstorm Sandy that swamped New York and New Jersey, ranking only behind 2005’s Katrina and 2017’s Harvey for damaging hurricanes. In the 1980s, the United States would average a billion-dollar weather disaster every 82 days. Now it’s every 18 days, Smith said. That’s not inflation because damages are adjusted to factor that out, he said. It’s nastier weather and more development, people and buildings in harm’s way, he said. Globally “if you zoom in the last six years, 2017 to 2022, this has been particularly bad” especially compared to the five years before, said Martin Bertogg, Swiss Re’s head of catastrophic peril. “It felt like a regime change, some people called it a new normal,” Bertogg said. But he thinks it was more getting back, after a brief respite, to a long-term trend of disaster costs steadily rising 5% to 7% a year.

Australian communities battling wildfires were given several messages of support at the Golden Globes, with Ellen DeGeneres, Patricia Arquette and Australian-born Cate Blanchett among those sending best wishes. Russell Crowe couldn't be there because he was helping fight the flames.