Bangladesh Loses $3 Billion Yearly as Climate Change Devastates Coastal Regions
Bangladesh faces severe climate-related losses, with Cox's Bazar, Kurigram, Satkhira, and Sunamganj being the hardest hit districts. The country suffers an annual loss of around $3 billion due to climate change, impacting millions of lives and worsening inequality.
The Oxfam's Loss and Damage Dashboard recorded 11,579 climate change-induced loss and damage cases across 19 districts in Bangladesh over two years. Each affected person incurs an average loss of Tk 1,17,000, equivalent to 15 months of income for an average worker. The dashboard reveals gendered disparities, with men reporting higher monetary losses and women facing disproportionate health and livelihood effects. The regions in the south and southeast, especially coastal areas and Sundarbans islands, were most affected by storms, floods, and erosion between June 2023 and March 2024.
The total climate change-induced losses amounted to Tk 1.35 billion in two years. Bangladesh, a Least Developed Country, bears the highest costs of a crisis primarily caused by wealthy nations, exacerbating global inequality.
Oxfam launched the Loss and Damage Dashboard to empower communities and policymakers, advocating for global climate justice. With the dashboard's insights, Bangladesh can better address the worsening impacts of climate change and push for fair compensation from wealthier nations responsible for the crisis.
