Seeking compensation for climate change

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As it is, Bangladesh has been identified as one of the countries to be worst affected by climate change for globally polluting activities of the rich and developed countries . From this recognition, promises have also come from these countries that they would lend substantial resources to poor countries like Bangladesh as compensation. The challenge for the low income economies would be to liaison with the donor countries and organizations to obtain these resources free of cost and use the same in time in optimum fashion to maximize benefits.
It is also important for countries like Bangladesh to put the pressure on the rich nation to get their direct cooperation to deal with climate change. For example, negotiations led to the Maldives getting a bill piloted successfully through the Australian parliament to admit a large number of its environmental refugees to Australia as that island nation would start sinking from sea level rise. The Maldives also has a similar agreement with Canada.
Thus, it is imperative for Bangladesh to engage in hard negotiations with European, North American and other countries for the migration of its potential environmental refugees who could be created from climate change by 2030.
The greatest benefit can come to Bangladesh by working as a catalyst to get the rich and developed countries, specially the USA to agree to immediate reduction in carbon emissions. To this end, it should engage all its diplomatic strength and start a campaign with the utmost vigour.
If pressures from Bangladesh and others likely to be most affected countries by climate change, are concerted and applied in a sustained manner, then the offending countries are more likely to feel responsible and react by putting caps on their carbon emissions sooner rather than later.
Persuading successfully the developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emission appropriately at an early date can be the most successful input from Bangladesh than any amount of resources extended to it to cope with the effects of climate change.
Kabita Rahman
Gulshan, Dhaka