Road to COP28: Bangladesh

This blog is part of a series of country spotlights as the world gears up for the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28). USAID has a portfolio of climate change programs, partnerships, and expertise in more than 45 countries around the world. Here, Climatelinks is putting a spotlight on Bangladesh.

With two-thirds of the country less than 20 feet above sea level and with rapidly growing urban centers, Bangladesh is highly threatened by climate change. To meet rising energy demand, maintain economic growth, and address emissions and local air pollution, Bangladesh is aiming to diversify its energy sector with sustainable and secure resources. 

USAID updated its Bangladesh Climate Change Country Profile in 2023. The Agency supports the Government of Bangladesh’s development and climate priorities through a series of programs and partnerships addressing climate mitigation and adaptation. USAID strengthens climate resilience, improves natural resources governance and sustainable use of energy, and advances green economic growth within the country. USAID strategically engages with the private sector to support innovation and maximize impact.

The Government of Bangladesh recently released its National Adaptation Plan of Bangladesh (2023-2050). National Adaptation Plans identify medium- and long-term adaptation needs, informed by the latest climate science.

Image

The village of Kalabagi, located in the Dakop region of the Khulna district of Bangladesh, faces a crisis of freshwater. Due to rising sea levels, Kalabagi was inundated with salt water during high tide. Lacking fresh water, people living in this area are now using salt water for daily use, leading to various diseases. This photo was a Climatelinks 2022 photo contest winner.

Credit: MD. Musfiqur Rahaman

Climatelinks’ Bangladesh Resources 

Climatelinks houses more than 150 reports, blog posts, and photos on Bangladesh, Including a GHG Emissions Fact Sheet and Climate Risk Profile. Below are a few additional important resources.

Advancing Energy Security and Climate Resilience in Bangladesh

Bangladesh submitted its updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to the UNFCCC in August 2021 and is committed to reducing GHG emissions in the power, industrial, and transportation sectors. 

Clean Energy Transition in Bangladesh

In May 2021 USAID and NREL launched a project titled Reinforcing Advanced Energy Systems (RAES). The program provides technical support for scaling up and deploying advanced energy systems to transition to a sustainable, secure, and market-driven energy future. The RAES program is designed to support the Government of Bangladesh’s goal of promoting renewable energy development to stimulate private sector investment, rural economic development, and to provide the domestic energy resources needed to meet growing energy demand across the country.

How Women’s Empowerment Can Expand Crop Diversification as a Climate Adaptation Strategy in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s location on the Bay of Bengal, its low-lying coastal delta topography, and its intensive rice monoculture make it one of the most vulnerable countries worldwide to climate threats, including floods, sea level rise, and salinization. Climate adaptation strategies in the agricultural and food production sectors will be critical to reduce the negative impacts of these climate-related changes, including the rising risk of food insecurity. 

Key Climate Indicators 

Resources listed below summarize existing information from Climatelinks’ Bangladesh Country Page on climate change impacts, greenhouse gas emissions, and USAID climate and development programs in Bangladesh. 

Image

Findings from the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) has rated Bangladesh’s vulnerability as medium. According to ND-GAIN, vulnerability is the measure of a country’s exposure, sensitivity, and capacity to adapt to the negative effects of climate change. 

Bangladesh’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions growth from 2015-2019 was 2.49 percent, according to the World Resources Institute’s CAIT Climate Data Explorer. This represents the annual growth in GHG emissions across all sectors, including land use. 

Around 11 percent of Bangladesh is made up of forested area. According to the Global Forest Watch, the average annual growth of GHG emissions from deforestation in Bangladesh was 22.36 percent between 2017-2021.