Author: Bapon Fakhruddin
-
Drowning in Plastic: The Urgent Need to Tackle the Crisis Upstream
We have already created 11 billion metric tons of plastic, surpassing the combined weight of all terrestrial and marine animals. Every year, we add another 430 million tons to this total. A significant portion of this is single-use plastic, briefly used and then discarded without a second thought. The economic loss is equally alarming. We…
-
Responsible Pathways for Ocean Carbon Removal
The health of our oceans offers promise in the fight against climate change, but only if we act decisively to leverage their potential responsibly and equitably. The ocean naturally absorbs over a quarter of annual carbon emissions. We can optimise this process by protecting marine ecosystems and enhancing natural ocean carbon sinks. Mangroves, seagrasses, and salt…
-
5MinutesToChangeTheWorld
#5MinutesToChangeTheWorld: What rich and poor countries can learn from how we spend our days- The recent global study on how humans allocate time revealed that across nations, we only spend around 5 minutes per day on activities directly related to energy, waste and environmental impact. On average, we spend about a third of each day…
-
Leveraging Climate Finance and Blended Funding for Water Resilience
Closing the vast financing gap for water security and climate resilience will require mobilizing funds from multiple sources – public, private, and innovative climate finance mechanisms – and blending them effectively. Traditional funding (government budgets and aid) is insufficient on its own, given estimates that $114–150 billion per year is needed to meet global water and…
-
The Race to Renewables: Are We Ready?
The reality is undeniable: fossil fuels, the bedrock of our industrial and technological progress, are finite. The question is not if they will run out but when. And when they do, how prepared will we be to transition to a world powered entirely by renewable energy? Renewable sources supply 10 to 20 per cent of…
-
Accelerating Global Action Through the Green Climate Fund
The 2022 Joint Report on Multilateral Development Banks’ Climate Finance highlights the urgent need to scale up efforts to meet the climate crisis. While climate financing has increased, current commitments fall short of the vast requirements developing countries face. The report identifies critical gaps like lack of funding for adaptation, difficulties in leveraging private finance,…
-
The Colorado River’s Silent Plea: Act Before It’s Too Late
In a heartfelt exploration of the Colorado River’s current state, it’s evident that water shortage is a pressing issue. The river, which resembles a tree branching out to various states, is in a precarious situation due to prolonged drought. The two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are at a quarter of their capacity,…
-
The Escalating Threat of Flash Droughts
The graph shows that the risk of flash droughts is increasing in every region of the world. The black line shows historical data, and the three colored lines show three different possible future scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions. The shaded regions indicate the variability among the averages between all six models for each scenario. As…
-
The Complex Relationship Between Climate Change and Infectious Diseases
The relationship between climate change and infectious diseases like malaria, dengue, and Zika is complex. Different diseases are affected differently by climate change. Malaria transmission may decrease in some areas as temperatures rise, but dengue and other diseases spread by different mosquitoes are likely to increase. Rising temperatures will alter the spread of these mosquito-borne…
-
Beyond the Horizon: Projecting Bhutan’s Water Future in a Changing Climate
My journey with Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon, has been a long and fulfilling one. From supporting their hydro-met services to developing flood forecasting in the Wangchhu River Basin (https://lnkd.in/gj7aW5aN), conducting climate risk assessments for hydro-power and water resources management, and building capacity on disaster risk reduction – it’s been a deeply rewarding experience.…
Bapon (SHM) Fakhruddin, PhD 