Pay 50% of cost to make Dhaka climate resilient

In order to tackle the climate change crisis, authorities are taking various steps to make the city climate resilient. One of the key figures leading the fight is Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md Atiqul Islam, who is also the current vice chair for C40 – a global network of mayors taking urgent action to confront the climate crisis. On November 16, at the sidelines of the 2022 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, more commonly referred to as COP27, he talked to Mehedi Al Amin of The Business Post about the challenges Dhaka is facing due to climate change and the steps taken to overcome the impacts

Climate change is creeping in fast and Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and the fastest growing megacity in the world, is at the forefront in fighting its impacts. The city is already suffering from the changes in weather patterns and other effects of global warming, including increasing environment pollution and health issues.

What kinds of initiatives are taken to make Dhaka a climate resilient city?

Dhaka is the most densely populated city in the world with 15 million people living in the DNCC area alone. Climate change is pushing 2,000 people from across the country to the city every day. They are mostly climate refugees. We have to ensure their dignity, safety and wellbeing.

For that, we need open space. Very recently, I received the C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Award 2022 after recovering 24 playgrounds and parks and opening them for the community and city dwellers. Besides, we are cleaning canals and connecting those with rivers.

We can even use the canals to do businesses like floating restaurants. But no one will go there if the water smells bad, not even for fishing. So these are the challenges there.

Is there any global fund to make the city resilient that Dhaka can avail?

Global climate funds should directly finance 50 per cent of the money needed to make Dhaka a climate resilience city.

We want to create green jobs in the city, and last but not the least we want to make low-cost housing. We are taking the money from NGOs. But it is not enough.

The countries that emit the most greenhouse gas have to take the responsibility. Bangladesh’s contribution to the emission is comparatively insignificant, but the country is faced with serious consequences. 

Dhaka is going to build a waste-to-energy power plant, which will be first of its kind in the city. The power costs for such plants are high, it can affect employment, and does not produce renewable energy. Why are you taking on such a project?

When we signed an agreement for the project, we were very much clear that the operating company must take permission from the environment ministry before beginning operation.

I cannot take responsibility for producing energy in a way that worsens the climate situation. We are relying on the environment ministry in this case. Everything we do will be based on the recommendations of the environment ministry.

So, we cannot reuse waste effectively at this moment. That is why we are going for incineration. We will not be needing land for the plant as it can be built inside the landfill.

In the long run, we will go for composing waste rather than incinerating. 

Climate change is fuelling mosquito related diseases in countries like Bangladesh. Dengue is killing scores of people in Dhaka. What are your thoughts on this?

Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and all the tropical countries have the same kind of problem. Last year the dengue outbreak started from the beginning of the year and the number of cases came down by the end of August.

This year, the outbreak continued till November, why? Only for changing weather patterns. 

40 per cent Aedes mosquitoes are found in under construction buildings. We need to build awareness about the issues with cooperation from all.

You are currently vice-chair of C40. How can the alliance work against fossil fuel burning?

We have to reduce fossil fuel use to reach our goal of achieving net zero emission. It is important to prioritise using electrical vehicles, wind and solar powers.

We have begun working to that end. Sodium lights have been replaced with LEDs. 46 thousand LED lights have been installed in Dhaka and these are all LEDs.

Do you have any suggestions for the other C40 member cities?

We have committed to achieve net zero carbon emission. All the member cities are trying to achieve that goal. My suggestion for them is to avoid using fossil fuel.

We are currently facing three Cs– Covid-19, climate change and conflict. We have to stop the Russia-Ukraine war. Otherwise, the use of coal-based power will return.

So, I will request that world leaders make a heart-to-heart discussion. This will help everyone to work towards a better world, better cities and better countries.

This Story was produced as part of the 2022 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organised by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.