To: State Minister, Labour Ministry
Just Transition
• The major environmental issues and problems in Bangladesh climate change, natural calamities (lightning, cyclone, water surge, salinity, flood , flash flood , drought , earthquake, riverbank erosion, sedimentation) geospatial setting, environmental pollutions (air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, and noise pollution. As one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, Bangladesh is in a precarious position when it comes to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, which calls upon countries to “take urgent actions to combat climate change and its impacts”. Up to 15 percent of the land area of the country could be inundated by 2050 due to the rise in sea level caused by climate change. Projections show that Bangladesh could lose around 1.1 percent of its GDP due to climate change during the period 2017-2041. .
Why is this important?
• According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2020, between 1999 and 2018, Bangladesh ranked seventh in the countries worst affected by extreme weather events. Of the top seven countries, only Myanmar and the Philippines suffered a bigger death toll than low-lying Bangladesh.
• Workers have the right to participate in all the aspects of Just Transition processes. Nobody can represent the interests of workers better than workers themselves and their trade union organizations. Trade unions are called to participate actively in these national follow-up and review processes on the Just Transition with a view to promote and defend workers’ rights as well as the interests of the poorest in society.
