The bill for climate change impacts should be shared
The impacts of climate change are upon us. Recently, devastating floods in neighbouring Pakistan have killed more than 1,000 people, leaving many more homeless. This tragedy followed the deadly floods that hit northeastern India and Bangladesh earlier in May. More than nine million people in both countries were affected, and around 300 were killed. Millions of people across the affected areas were left in urgent need of food and medicine. Climate change is also impacting business and industry. This was brought into sharp focus in my own industry, garment production, with the Pakistan floods. Recent news reports show these floods severely damaged the country's cotton crop. Local dispatches indicate that around 40-45 percent of the cotton crop is submerged (at the time of writing this article) in the major cotton production areas of Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan. This could potentially lead to a sizeable reduction in cotton output, placing further supply pressures on the global market and raising prices. This will, in theory, affect Bangladeshi garment makers if the global price of cotton increases. Meanwhile, a drought in the US has also reduced the cotton crop there this year, impacting global cotton prices and hitting garment makers in Bangladesh and other southeast Asian countries. In the wake of the Pakistan floods, the country's minister for planning and development, Ahsan Iqbal, said Pakistan was a victim of climate change caused by the "irresponsible development of the developed world." "Our carbon footprint is the lowest in the world," Iqbal said. "The international community has a responsibility to help us, upgrade our infrastructure, to make our infrastructure more climate resilient, so that we don't have such losses every three, four, five years."
India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi
India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.
COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Why China's climate policy matters to us all
China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.
Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks
A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.