Nearly 2,000 women workers from Dhaka wearing masks representing leaders of the worlds leading industrialized nations, the G8, called for richer nations to do more to help poorer countries like Bangladesh whove been affected by the negative impacts of climate change.

Protect our agriculture, protect our country, protect our lives from the damaging effects of climate change, they chanted, waving their fists to make their demands. They then took part in a short, but symbolic rally in the capital.

Many of those taking part including women who earned a living breaking bricks, and garment workers had never heard of the term climate change. But they all understood that Bangladesh was often battered by weather-related disasters, from cyclones to floods. In the last few years Bangladesh has seen an increase in the intensity and frequency of climate-related problems. But changing temperatures and patterns have meant that weather-related disasters have become less predictable and harder to manage. And that makes it harder for the poorest communities to prepare or respond to increased hazards.

The climate change protest was organized by Oxfam and its key partner, the Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL), ahead of the United Nations conference on climate change in Poznan, Poland.

The protest in Dhaka was the last of eight events organized across the country, highlighting how climate changes have affecting individual communities living in different geographical locations.

CSRL chairperson, Shirin Akter, speaking at the meeting in Dhaka, called on all political parties in Bangladesh to include specific programmes to tackle climate change in their election manifestos. Bangladesh is due to hold national elections at the end of December. She also urged an official government delegation, which will attend the UN conference on climate change in Poznan, Poland next month, to urge G8 leaders to do more to cut their national carbon emissions and to start helping countries like Bangladesh by financing adaptation measures to reduce their vulnerability to the negative impacts of climate change.

Source: youtube

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