Bangladesh is facing the consequences of the climate emergency

Abstract

Serious action is needed to mitigate the climate emergency and minimise associated health risks, write Rubhana Raqib and Mohammad Sirajul Islam

Climate emergency: Treat Earth as an ancestor, not a commodity

“…It endangers a populous and perilously landscaped country, Bangladesh, where a 50 cm rise in sea level will claim a third of the country’s land mass and displace 18 million people (doi:10.1136/bmj.p2211). 5 Yet endangered peoples and nations carry the burden of climate damage without contributing meaningfully to it (doi:10.1136/bmj.p2156). 6 Bangladesh produces just 0.4% of global emissions of greenhouse gases.…”

“…17 Why not, as the World Health Organization’s Maria Neira argues, see the climate emergency as the ultimate health opportunity?18 With that mindset we might take action not only in healthcare settings but in other sectors that influence the health of people and planet, such as transport and housing (doi:10.1136/bmj.p2211 doi:10.1136/bmj.p2235). 519 We might realise that investing in local communities reduces healthcare costs (doi:10.1136/bmj.p2239). 20 We might then have a better appreciation of the influence of climate change on a person with asthma walking in a polluted city (doi:10.1136/bmj.p2144) or someone struggling in hot weather with the adverse effects of antipsychotic drugs (doi:10.1136/bmj.p2199).…”