Platinum Winner

Climate Injustice

Photographer

Alain Schroeder

Category

Editorial Photography - Editorial / Other

Company

Submission Group

Professional

Year

2024

Country / Region

Belgium

Bangladesh is severely impacted by climate change and its intensifying consequences. More frequent droughts, floods, powerful cyclones, melting Himalayan glaciers exacerbating riverbank erosion, rising sea levels threatening coastlines and increasing the salinity of rivers and soil, are causing significant losses in crops, property, and human lives.





Climate events also lead to escalating unemployment and poverty. Forced internal migrations are becoming commonplace, with approximately 2,000 people arriving in (already overcrowded) Dhaka daily. Many climate migrants end up in urban slums, while others settle on shifting riverine islands known as "chars," despite their instability. Thousands more seek to emigrate to India or Gulf countries for work opportunities.



Bangladesh, densely populated and largely situated less than 12 meters above sea level, is particularly vulnerable to global warming. Current predictions on rising sea levels indicate that 15% - 20% of the country could vanish by 2050, potentially displacing 25 to 30 million people and leading to conflicts in the region.



To achieve climate justice, Western nations, largely responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, must adopt a global approach to the complex interplay between the environment and the society in this precarious Asian region. Moreover, Bangladesh needs financial and technological assistance to address the challenges it faces as the first country to experience such large-scale consequences of global warming and climate change. 

Credits

Alain Schroeder
Amateur
2024
The Great Harbor Bridge  - Photography Winner

Photographer / Company

Chih Hsuan Hung

Category

Architecture Photography - Abstract

Country / Region

Taiwan

Professional
2024
Frames: Exploring Contemporary Taiwan Hakka Perspectives - Photography Winner

Photographer / Company

EACH LEE

Category

Fine Art Photography - Portrait

Country / Region

Taiwan

Professional
2024
Mid Lake Pavilion - Photography Winner

Photographer / Company

Didi Hsu

Category

Architecture Photography - Historic

Country / Region

Taiwan

Professional
2024
Children of the Hills - Photography Winner

Photographer / Company

Eric Kanigan

Category

Black & White Photography - People

Country / Region

United States