A basic description of climate changes under the environment law

 

A basic description of climate changes under the environment law.

 

Introduction: Bangladesh is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world (General Economics Division (GED), 2009, p. 25) and more than 70 million people would be affected by climate change impact (Chowdhury, Banu, & Ph.D, 2012, p. 113).

Statistics disclosed that by the year 
2050, 45 cm rise of sea level may submerge 10-15% of the land displacing more than 35 million people from the coastal regions (MoEF, 2009, p. xvii). Climate change through increased air and 
ocean temperature has direct or indirect effects on environment and biodiversity.

 

 Climate change impact has caused multiple shifts in the distribution of some species like amphibians, butterflies, grasses and migratory birds. A broad variety of amphibians, birds, crustaceans, mammals,[1] reptiles, will face extinction in Bangladesh for the destroying impact of climate change. 
Climate: In simple sense, climate is defined as the "average weather". It is the statistical description of relevant quantities (such as temperature, precipitation, and wind) over a period of time. the statistical description is given in terms of mean and variability. World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) assumes 3 decades as the classical period. In the broad sense, climate is the state of the climate system along with a statistical description (EPA, 2013).atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere are the components of climate system 

What are the causes of climate change?

The primary cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, which emits greenhouse gases into the atmosphere—primarily carbon dioxide. Other human activities, such as agriculture and deforestation, also contribute to the proliferation of greenhouse gases that cause climatechange.While some quantities of these gases are a naturally occurring and critical part of Earth’s temperature control system, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 did not rise above 300 parts per million between the advent of human civilization roughly 10,000 years ago and 1900. Today it is at about 400 ppm, a level not reached in more than 400,000 years.Increased burning of fossil fuels contributes to Climate. 

Some difficult causes under Environment law:The brightness of the Sun continues to increase as the star ages and it passes on an increasing amount of this energy to Earth's atmosphere over time.

Fossil-fuel combustion, deforestation, rice cultivation, livestock ranching, industrial production, and other human activities have increased since the development of agriculture and especially since the start of the Industrial Revolution.[2]

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapour, absorb infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface and reradiate it back, thus contributing to the greenhouse effect. Ice sheets, sea ice, terrestrial vegetation, ocean temperatures, weathering rates, ocean circulation, and GHG concentrations are influenced either directly or indirectly by the atmosphere; however, they also all feed back into the atmosphere and influence it in important ways. Periodic changes in Earth's orbit and axial tilt with respect to the Sun (which occur over tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years) affect how solar radiation is distributed on Earth's surface.

Tectonic movements, which change the shape, size, position, and elevation of the continental masses and the bathymetry of the oceans, have had strong effects on the circulation of both the atmosphere and the oceans.

Climate changes in Bangladesh:
Bangladesh is a South Asian developing country. The country is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with 147,570 sq. km. of total land area and about 160 million people. Bangladesh is gifted with land, water, climate, natural and human resources. However, it lacks conservation and sustainable utilisation of these resources. Environmental pollution has become one of the major issues for the country and the environment of the country is in a state of crisis. The natural environment of the country is facing serious threats due to the rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and agricultural intensification. One of the major victims of the global climate change,[3] the country suffers from environmental pollution of every kind. Most of the rivers of this riverine country are now polluted. Soil, water, forest and biodiversity of the country are facing serious pollution and destruction. Bangladesh follows common law tradition with some exceptions which features an adversarial legal system. The legal system initially introduced by the colonial power to plunder the natural recourses in quickest possible time is inherently unsuitable for conservation of environment. The environmental governance or administrative system suffers from the same colonial legacy and relevant departments of the government particularly those started in the colonial era mainly focus on maximising resources extraction than long-term conservation of natural resources.Environmental law of the country is also guided by common law principles supplemented by modern statutory development. With some recent exceptions environmental law of the country is still “use” oriented. International environmental law principles are yet to be fully incorporated in the environmental legal framework of the country.

Climate change is happening

Our Earth is warming. Earth's average temperature has risen by 1.5°F over the past century, and is projected to rise another 0.5 to 8.6°F over the next hundred years. Small changes in the average temperature of the planet can translate to large and potentially dangerous shifts in climate and weather.
The evidence is clear. Rising global temperatures have been accompanied by changes in weather and climate. Many places have seen changes in rainfall, resulting in more floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves.

CGCM1 and its control recreation is depicted in detail in Flato et al. (2000). We hence give just a concise outline of the model's essential highlights in this part.

 

The climatic segment of the coupled model is basically equivalent to CCC GCM2 (McFarlane et al. 1992). This model has been utilized widely in various environment reenactments (Boer et al. 1992; Boer 1993;Reader and Boer 1998; Zwiers et al. 2000). It is an otherworldly model with T32 truncation and 10 vertical levels. The model incorporates an extensive bundle of actual definitions of subgrid-scale measures. The land surface plan utilizes a solitary soil layer with spatially changing dampness field limit and soil properties. A thermodynamic model is utilized to reproduce ocean ice. [4]

 

The sea model is a form of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Modular Ocean Model (Pacanowski et al. 1993). The sea model network has twofold the goal of the environmental model in longitude and scope and 29 vertical levels. The upper four levels are similarly separated at 50 m, with level dividing expanding under 200 m. The environment and the sea segments impart once every day by trading day by day normal amounts. The model utilizes motion changes for warmth and freshwater motions. The spinup and coupling techniques are examined in Flato et al. (2000).

 

The coupled model has been utilized to lead a few multicentury reconciliations under different radiative compelling situations. The trial plan of the transient environmental change reconciliations and examination of the reproduced verifiable and projected environment changes are given in Boer et al. (2000a,b). An outfit of three free combinations, examined in the current investigation, is performed with a comparable ozone depleting substance compelling relating to that saw from 1900 to introduce, and a constraining relating to an identical CO2 increment at a pace of 1% yr−1 from that point until year 2100.[5] The immediate impact of sulfate mist concentrates is additionally included by expanding the surface albedo as in Reader and Boer (1998). The same CO2 and airborne development is that of Mitchell et al. (1995) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1992 situation A (Houghton et al. 1992). In the accompanying, we will allude to the reenactments as the GHGA (Greenhouse Gases and Aerosol) runs. A subset of the month to month and day by day information from a few transient reproductions is accessible online at http://www.cccma.bc.ec.gc.ca.

 

Three 21-yr time spans focused at years 1985, 2050, and 2090 were chosen from every reconciliation. The main period for quite a long time 1975–95 addresses the model environment under the current grouping of ozone harming substances and mist concentrates. The other two windows in the center and the finish of the twenty-first century compare generally to the hour of CO2 fixation multiplying and significantly increasing, comparative with the 1975–95 level.
The planet's oceans and glaciers have also experienced some big changes – oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, ice caps are melting, and sea levels are rising. As these and other changes become more pronounced in the coming decades, they will likely present challenges to our society and our environment.
Global warming refers to the recent and ongoing rise in global average temperature near Earth's surface. It is caused mostly by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global warming is causing climate patterns to change. However, global warming itself represents only one aspect of climate change.
Climate change refers to any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time. In other words, climate change includes major changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns, among other effects, that occur over several decades or longer.
Humans are largely responsible for recent climate change: Over the past century, human activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The majority of greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels to produce energy, [6]although deforestation, industrial processes, and some agricultural practices also emit gases into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases act like a blanket around Earth, trapping energy in the atmosphere and causing it to warm. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect and is natural and necessary to support life on Earth. However, the buildup of greenhouse gases can change Earth's climate and result in dangerous effects to human health and welfare and to ecosystems. 
The choices we make today will affect the amount of greenhouse gases we put in the atmosphere in the near future and for years to come.


Climate change affects everyone: Our lives are connected to the climate.Human societies have adapted to the relatively stable climate we have enjoyed since the last ice age which ended several thousand years ago. A warming climate will bring changes that can affect our water supplies, agriculture, power and transportation systems, the natural environment, and even our own health and safety.

Some changes to the climate are unavoidable. Carbon dioxide can stay in the atmosphere for nearly a century, so Earth will continue to warm in the coming decades. The warmer it gets, the greater the risk for more severe changes to the climate and Earth's system. Although it's difficult to predict the exact impacts of climate change, what's clear is that the climate we are accustomed to is no longer a reliable guide for what to expect in the future.
We can reduce the risks we will face from climate change. By making choices that reduce greenhouse gas pollution, and preparing for the changes that are already underway, we can reduce risks from climate change. Our decisions today will shape the world our children and grandchildren will livein.

ing threat of climate change emphasizes the value of environmental law. With rising sea levels, fluctuating temperatures and an increasing frequency of natural disasters, these regulations are critical to the continued safety of citizens across the world. In 2018 alone, the evidence was impossible to ignore.

Hurricane Florence resulted in the fatalities of at least 43 people as rainfall surpassed state wide records in the Carolinas. Unprecedented wildfires swept through California, kindled by drought, wind and unusually warm temperatures. These are only domestic examples, but they speak to a far more extensive problem.

While it's possible to mitigate the effects of climate change and protect innocent people the solution is more complex than suggesting a change. Regulatory bodies must demand a greater degree of accountability for carbon emissions and excessive waste. To that end, environmental law is indispensable.

Relevancy:
Environmental law governs how human beings interact with their environment. It covers a wide variety of topics such as air quality, water quality, waste management, and chemical safety, contaminant clean up and hunting and fishing. Many of these areas are relevant to climate change, namely, air quality. The Clean Air Act of 1970 serves as a fitting example. Because of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set standards for what kind of toxic air pollutants that factories, cars and trucks can release into the "ambient air." Their objective was to improve air quality and protect the ozone layer.

Other, lesser known laws are equally important. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 requires a time-consuming environmental-impact study every time the federal government intends to approve, build or renovate something. The Clean Air Act and NEPA both set a positive precedent and brought about change.

Concerning more recent changes, the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that the EPA needed to determine if carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were harmful pollutants under the Clean Air Act. They now regulate them as such. Of course, this type of law doesn't always occur at the level of the Supreme Court.

Environmental lawyers can advise clients in areas such as renewable energy generation and distribution, debt and equity finance, tax credits, capital formation and structuring, clean technology and "green" marketing. Well-intentioned individuals who partner with a reputable law firm can also contribute to the solution.

Pressing Issues: Though the value of environmental law is difficult to argue, it's still the subject of controversy. Lawmakers must give thought to the necessity, fairness and cost-effectiveness of their regulations, which isn't always simple. A cost-benefit analysis of an environmental regulation is often challenging to calculate.

Furthermore, people may disagree about the benefits of a regulation. Even with a calculation of its costs, the argument is far from over. A certain amount of diplomacy is necessary for environmental lawyers who have to explain the details of a complicated regulation to local and municipal governments.
The enforcement of environmental law also presents an issue. Many countries have environmental regulations, but not all of them comply. The alarming rates of deforestation, rising global temperatures and loss of biodiversity reflect a lack of progress, even with initiatives to manage these pressing issues.
Fortunately, regulatory bodies have strategies they can employ to strengthen enforcement, and, by extension, combat the issue of climate change. They can improve legal tools for civic engagement, fortify government institutions, increase access to all human rights and strive toward a better application of justice.

In making these changes, governments across the world can maintain their commitment to environmental protection. Though they'll likely encounter resistance, their continued efforts will prove integral to restoration. Otherwise, the natural disasters that devastated the country in recent years will grow in frequency. ​​​​​

Future Efforts: When government officials prioritize and enforce environmental conservation, they effect change on a global scale. The laws, regulations and agreements which preserve the environment are more than legislation. They represent something far more significant the rehabilitation of a damaged world.[7]

As the U.S. EPA and legal professionals fight the rising threat of climate change, their victories have far-reaching implications for the future. The safety and security of generations to come may depend on the work of environmental lawyers. With the challenges ahead, they'll have an important role to play.

Climate change is a direct threat to a child’s ability to survive, grow, and thrive:

As extreme weather events such as cyclones and heatwaves increase in frequency and ferocity, they threaten children’s lives and destroy infrastructure critical to their well-being. Floods compromise water and sanitation facilities, leading to diseases such as cholera, to which children are particularly vulnerable.

Global warming: Global sea levels are rising at an average rate of 3.4 millimetres per year, the Arctic sea ice volume reached record low in 2018, Antarctic ice sheet melting rate has accelerated threefold over the last five years, and exposure to natural hazards doubled in the last 40 years, affecting an increasing number of people.

Environmental pollution: Air quality laws govern the emission of air pollutants into the atmosphere. A specialized subset of air quality laws regulate the quality of air inside buildings. Air quality laws are often designed specifically to protect human health by limiting or eliminating airborne pollutant concentrations.[8] Other initiatives are designed to address broader ecological problems, such as limitations on chemicals that affect the ozone layer, and emissions trading programs to address acid rain or climate change. Regulatory efforts include identifying and categorizing air pollutants, setting limits on acceptable emissions levels, and dictating necessary or appropriate mitigation technologies.

Impact of Climate Change in Bangladesh: Bangladesh situated between the latitudes of 20050’N and 26020’N and longitudes of 88050’E and 92050’E receives over 3000 mm of rainfall annually. The highest temperature during summer does not exceed 430C and the lowest temperature during winter does not go below 40C with a maximum of 290C. The mean maximum temperature varies from 300 to 320C. Bangladesh is basically an agrarian economy and rice is the staple food crop of her nearly 160 million people living in a small area of roughly 144,000 sq km. Located at the bottom of the mighty GBM (The Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna) , Bangladesh is watered by a total of 57 trans-boundary rivers coming down to it . Out of these 54 originates in India and three in Myanmar. Virtually, Bangladesh has no control over the water flow and the volume. Floods, excess rainfall, tropical cyclones and drought are some of the common natural disaster the people of Bangladesh face as annual events. On the top of it, high density of population (estimated 1000 people per Km) and low purchasing power parity (1.25 $ a day) has put Bangladesh as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. It ranked first on German Watch’s Global Climate Risk Index of 2011

Adaptation to Climate Change in Bangladesh: Lessons learned from Adaptation to climate change in Bangladesh. Since the early nineties, a number of studies have been carried out which have built a body of knowledge and information about the likely adverse impacts of climate change to different sectors of the country’s economy. The World Bank published the results of a study in 2000 as Bangladesh: Climate Change and Sustainable development (Report No. 21104-BD). The overall objective of the study was to mainstream climate change adaptation issues in the regular development strategies and operations in Bangladesh as an example for other countries of the world.

The study involved five key sectors of the economy, namely: Coastal resources, Freshwater resources, Agriculture, human health and ecosystems and Biodiversity. The most important impact on coastal resources were determined to be on drainage change.rphological processes and disaster mitigation.

 

The most important impact on fresh water flows were determined to be on reduced low flows and drainage congestion.

Climate Change and Migration in Bangladesh: Golden Bengal to Land of Disasters Bangladesh is the most vulnerable country in the world because of frequent floods. The country becomes the third and the sixth most vulnerable country in terms of tsunami and cyclones. Drought will affect eight million people by2050. In future, the combined effect of high population growth and displaced population will make the country more vulnerable to social and economic underdevelopment. With increasing climate change vulnerabilities, people will consider taking an advantage of international migration if resources became exhausted. For resolving the problems of many more environmental migrants in upcoming years, this is high time to think about future floods of environmental migrants and the adaptation measure necessary for the survival of many.


Tropical Forestry and Climate Change:
The relationship between tropical forests and global climate change has been largely focused on the mitigation, while much less information is available on how management activities may help forest ecosystems adapt to this change. Tropical forests and forest-dependent communities appear not to appreciate the risks posed by the climate change and for those who are aware of them; practical guidance on how to respond is largely non-existent. The extent to which forestry research and national policies will promote and adapt management practices in order to assist production forests adapt to climate change is currently uncrating. Mainstreaming adaptation into national development and planning programs may represent initial step towards the incorporation of climate change consideration into tropical forestry. SADMC [20] outlined the following steps to address forestry in climate change mitigation.

Afforestation: Imported species planted in Bangladesh have been found to be vulnerable to drought and food, reducing their life span significantly. Afforestation through plantation of homogeneous and area-wise appropriate species by the side of roads, canals can have may beneficial result. Among they are increasing local soil moisture and humidity, restoring a more balanced ecosystem, and increasing regional precipitation.

Choice of Plant: Indigenous plants have adapted to adverse situation created by flooding and water logging; however, plant varieties imported from other continents (e.g. Acacia mangium, Eucalyptus camaldulensis) are less effective. Due to lack of information, farmers often choose non-adaptive to environmental intersect dominate decisions on import of species in the private and public sector. Most of the indigenous varieties and being eliminated from species lists used by the Department of Forestry. This need to be reversed through policy intervention and scientific investigation of habits and habitats of plant in flood-prone condition.

Plantation Site:Flood damage can be reduced by choosing plants according to the adaption requirement of the species, corresponding to specific climate and physiographic condition. Although Bangladesh is flood-prone and subject to water logging, this aspect is largely ignored in growing site-specific plants, particularly in organized plantations of the Department of Forest. Development of a policy framework on site-specificity of plants has the potential to improve the situation.

Good Governance Essential for Climate and Policies: The idea of ‘governance’ employed centers around that which the Workshop Concept-Paper refers to as C: ‘Thick-ish: objective list’. That is, governance refers to key structural and process values, such as transparency, accountability, participation and deliberation, as well as attention to efficacy and problem-solving. (Similar to the Cadman Framework) (Hugh Breakey)

Integrity: The notion of ‘integrity’ employed focuses on the integration of the institution (or institutional task) into its surrounding social, political and organizational environment. This is what the Concept Paper for the previous Workshop (Brisbane, Nov 2014) termed ‘context integrity’
Integrating climate change into development decision making Central to the notion of sustainable development,[9] first formulated by the Brundtland Commission more than twenty years ago, is the idea that environment and development decision making should be linked.

What’s next for Bangladesh: Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reached a landmark agreement on December 12, 2015 in Paris, charting a fundamentally new course in the two-decade –old global climate effort. Culminating a four-year negotiating round, the new treaty ends the strict differentiation between developed and developing countries that characterized earlier efforts, replacing it with a common framework that commits all countries to put forward their best efforts and to strengthen them in the years ahead. This includes, for the first time, requirements that all parties report regularly on their emissions and implementation efforts, and undergo international review.

 

Conclusion: Bangladesh is recognized worldwide as one of the country’s most valuable to the impact of global warming and climate change. This is due to its unique geographic location, dominance of floodplains, and low elevation from the sea, high population density, high levels of poverty and overwhelming dependence on nature, its resource and service. The country has a history of extreme climatic events claiming millions of lives and destroying past development gains. The people and social system have knowledge and experience of coping with their effects to some degree and extent. Variability in rainfall pattern, combined with increased snow melt from the Himalayas, and temperature extremes are resulting in crop damage and failure, preventing farmers and those dependent from meaningful earning opportunities. In a changing climate the pattern of impacts are eroding our assets, investment and future. This stands for families, communities and the state. Global warming and climate change threatens settlements and the number of people displaced from their land due to riverbank erosion, permanent inundation and sea level rise is increasing rapidly every year. Resource and efforts of government and people are quickly drained addressing the impact of one event when another hazard strikes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[8] Uddin, M. N., Bokelmann, W., & Entsminger, J. S. (2014). Factors affecting farmers’ adaptation strategies to environmental degradation and climate change effects: A farm level study in Bangladesh. Climate, 2(4), 223-241.

[9] Ali, A. (1999). Climate change impacts and adaptation assessment in Bangladesh. Climate research, 12(2-3), 109-116.