The Asia-Pacific Climate Week was held at the UN Conference Centre, Bangkok from September 2 to 6, 2019. The objective was to have a regional dialogue on how to rachet up ambition in mitigation and speed up adaptation actions.

In an op-ed piece published in this newspaper on August 27, 2019, I discussed a number of methods within the context of Solar Radiation Management (SRM) as a way of mitigating some of the impacts of climate change. They are whitening low-level clouds, thinning the Cirrus clouds, injecting sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere, or putting sunshades (mirrors and/or reflectors) in outer space.

The Dhanmondi lake deserves some serious attention by the relevant authorities to save it from pollution.

The “Global Warming of 1.5 degree C” report determined “afforestation” (planting new forests) and “reforestation” (replacing forests on deforested or recently harvested lands) as essential strategies to remove greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere. Likewise, the role of trees in addressing the climate change problem has received much attention in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) special report on “Climate Change and Land”. However, planting trees is not a silver bullet against climate change and it should be a part of an inclusive action plan to address the climate crisis.

In the Environmental Physics course that I teach from time to time, a student once remarked that we really do not have to worry about the deleterious effects of climate change because technology would be able to solve all the problems we are facing.

Throughout my 10 years working in international development and climate policy, I’ve mostly heard colleagues talk about the private sector as if it was this intangible,

In June 2019, the Bangladesh High Court granted its rivers the status and rights of a living entity, becoming the fourth country after New Zealand, India and Colombia to do so, and the first to extend the declaration to every river within its territory. The decision was welcomed by river rights groups, environmentalists, experts and the National River Conservation Commission of Bangladesh as an important move against the widespread encroachment and pollution, choking hundreds of rivers crisscrossing Bangladesh.

Plastics play a vital role in our daily life. However, plastic debris in the marine environment has serious negative impacts on marine resources, fisheries as well as on the use of coastal areas for tourism. It is also a threat to our precious Blue Economy.

Over a hundred people have died and hundreds of thousands have been displaced in the first few weeks of the South Asian monsoon this year.

When I was visiting a museum in Athens last year, one of my Greek friends was explaining to me about an ancient water supply canal that went through underneath the museum. It was amazing to see that the authorities in Athens realised the importance of providing clean water for its newly urbanised citizens, even thousands of years ago.

Despite serious discord and disputes between the countries of South Asia, the concept of a common future of the region based on increasing cooperation among the people and governments has somehow survived because of strong geographical, economic and cultural factors.

Nick-Named the “Last Frontier”, Alaska is the largest state (in area) of the United States. It is also one of the richest states, thanks to its abundance of natural resources, such as oil, natural gas, gold and fish. The state is home to a vast expanse of pristine wilderness, towering mountains, breathtaking glaciers and big game animals.

Imagine if you had in your hands an extremely precious resource. While you have lots of this resource, you only have a finite amount—it won’t last forever.

As a six-year-old obsessed and fascinated with the wild, I remember asking my mother once: “How do tigers protect the environment?”

Most people felt the temperature this summer was higher than previous years, and that it has become intolerable.

The picture is crystal clear. Human activity will soon drive the climate crisis all across our planet to the tipping point unless we rapidly transform the ways in which we produce and consume energy. While renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures can help dramatically cut emissions of greenhouse gases, they are not the panacea for the climate change related problems that we have created.

The fact depicted by recent global surveys that Dhaka is the second most air-polluted capital city of the world is surely not delighting for anyone. Several sporadic scientific studies were carried out in the last 25 years to characterise the composition of air pollutants of Dhaka city.

Today is “World Oceans Day,” a day observed worldwide to raise our awareness of the crucial role the oceans play in sustaining life on Earth. It is also a day to appreciate the beauty of the oceans that “brings eternal joy to the soul.”

As the cyclone Fani approached the Bangladeshi coast last month, many were reminded of the horrors that previous super cyclones left in their wake. In 1970, a cyclone of similar intensity killed half a million people.

It is obvious that global efforts to combat climate change—that were agreed upon at the 21st Conference of Parties in Paris—have already gone off the rails.