CliDev Letters is a new blog series edited by Hemant Ojha and hosted by IFSD to stimulate creative debates on tackling climate crisis and development challenges for the benefit of most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups across the Global South.
The crisis
Since 1960, climate change is believed to have increased the inequality gap between developing and developed countries by 25%. The climate crisis we are seeing now is not just a physical phenomenon; it is profoundly a socio-political phenomenon in two senses; first, it is caused mainly by those who misused and polluted natural environment; and second, its impacts are more severe on this who are the poorest and has nothing to do with causing the climate change.
Climate crisis has come at a time when nearly 2 billion people in the planet are still struggling to have access to basic necessities of life. Vulnerable populations in developing countries who lack access to clean drinking water and quality education are hit the hardest by climate change and take the longest to rebound from it. The destructive impacts of climate change can offset any positive progress made under different Goals of Sustainable Development.
Meanwhile, Governments and communities across the Global South are grappling with responding to the coupled challenge of climate and development. As climate, society and politics entangle with one another, finding solutions to this complex problem is not easy. Additionally, how developed and developing countries cooperate with each other, such as on the effectiveness of aid, is also a matter of continuous debate. Above all, how locally based influencers of change remain abreast of latest thinking and ideas and inspire change locally and nationally is a crucial aspect of tackling the two criss of climate change and slow-paced and unsustainable development.
The opportunity
While the situation is dire, there is a glimmer of hope: the past decade has seen global commitments to tackle climate crises and accelerate sustainable development goals. Fresh insights and knowledge are emerging from all around the world, driven by the actions of communities, researchers, NGOs, and governments, catalysed in part by the widespread mobilisation of internet based knowledge sharing, networking, and advocacy.
This blog series will showcase emerging insights on tackling problems at the intersection of climate and development. We feature the voices of people from different disciplines, sectors and policy domains. We invite all professionals, practitioners and champions of change – from newly emerging to established – to share their stories, on aspects of work covering climate and development, and related to issues and practice anywhere in the Global South.
Submission guideline
To submit a blog, please click here. Please note that submitting a blog does not guarantee publication. The decision to publish will be made by our editorial team who will review the blog and, if needed, ask for revisions on the content.
The guidelines for blog posts are as follows:
· The word length should be from 800 to 900 words (except foot note reference list).
· Sources are to be cited as footnotes, with full references in the list at the end of the blog
· Relevant pictures can be added to the blog, but credit must be given.
· Please use plain English when writing.
· We accept original blog posts only, please do not submit blogs that have been previously posted elsewhere.
We have deliberately titled the series “Climate and Development Letters” as we would like the blogs to be conversational and accessible to as many people as possible.
Open sharing and republishing
Please note that some blogs may be shared across our social media channels, including LinkedIn. By submitting your blog, you agree to your blog being shared (with full credit) across IFSD’s social media channels and being reproduced by other non-IFSD media.
CliDev Editorial team
Chief Editor: Dr Hemant Ojha. Hemant is an international development researcher with over 20 years of experience in the Global South. His work on community based and participatory environmental governance is globally recognised. He is passionate about stimulating public discourse around how development and climate resilience can be integrated in the Global South and how developed nations and Northern based organisations can better support locally led innovations in the Global South. Additional members of the editorial team will be announced soon.
Associate Editor: Priyanka Gurung. Priyanka is a research and program officer at IFSD, remotely working from Nepal. She has an interdisciplinary background on environment and development. She is actively championing climate justice through research, community empowerment, and engagement with wider public discourses.
Editorial Advisors: Basundhara Bhattarai, Jeff Camkin, Ramu Subedi, Amit Sarwal
CliDev Letter 1 (February 2023)
Glimmer of Hope
By Anusha Ojha
Knee-deep in seawater a few metres away from the shore, Tuvalu’s foreign minister Simon Kofe, gave
an emotional and gripping speech in his address to COP26, with the hopes of drawing the world’s attention to the suffering of his people and other Pacific Island nations. It felt like a scene straight out of a futuristic, post-apocalyptic movie, yet it is the cold reality that island nations such as Tuvalu are currently grappling with.
Click here to read the full article.