Climate injustice: Our seat at the table
The Nepal flash flood from August has made one thing glaringly obvious—the price for climate change is hardly ever shared globally. Most of us will acknowledge that climate change is a global problem, but what rarely any of us dwell on is how countries that have done the least to contribute towards the alarming rise of global warming are the first in line to face the harshest consequences. Developing countries like Bangladesh especially bear a disproportionate share of climate change consequences. And we, as university students, are in distinctive positions when it comes to climate justice.
Think of it—when was the last time you stepped out in Dhaka city and felt like the heavy air wasn’t burning through your lungs, or the last time you felt the cool breeze of summer under the shade of a tree? The degree you are working so hard for right now will outlive the current climate you are living in. Bangladesh accounts for a very small fraction of global carbon emissions—roughly 0.28% to 0.4%, according to OWID (Our World in Data) (OWID CO₂ emission trend)—yet the ever-increasing weight of climate change is no longer a distant future. We are the generation that will inherit the brunt of the consequences.
Because conversation is a starting point, just being aware is no longer enough. Faiza Fatima Sarah (Senior, CSE) expressed, “What I fear is how climate change consequences are accumulating as the generations go on. We cannot control the scale of destruction, but what we can do is talk about it and take small steps, collectively. For example, Dhaka has poor urban planning, but our population demands it. I have been talking to my family about how we need more rooftop gardens.”
When it comes to climate justice, limited control does not mean helplessness, and our own academic spaces know why. At the core of BRACU’s architectural mastery, sustainability shines through. By promoting renewable energy generation, conserving water, increasing the abundant greenery, and more, the campus thrives as an eco-friendly environment in all possible aspects. Additionally, BRACU C3ER (The Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research) works to influence policy regarding climate change, encouraging the community to become more vocal regarding climate change. Initiatives such as the Zero Waste Campus: The Green Pledge, hosted last year in a collaboration between The Social Impact Lab and C3ER, fostered the values of sustainability amongst the students through a number of activities and the Net Zero Pledge.
While it may seem like individual actions or discourse do not replace global action, the point of such spaces is not to solve the climate crisis in one sitting but to provide students with the ground where they have actual leverage.
