Communities 'don't give a damn about sceptics or governments'

Local communities do not give a damn about climate sceptics or governments, Dr Atiq Rahman of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies says in a video interview with OneWorld.

"Communities don't have a choice of waiting. They don't have a choice of 10 years of negotiation. They have been hit.

"They have to feed their children tomorrow. They have either to sow the crop in the next five days or they miss the crop. If they don't sow their seeds next year there is no crop, and if they don't have a crop they are totally devastated. Their 10 years of accumulation of whatever little wealth they've got will go down the drain. Their children will not go to school. They will not be well fed, there will be malnutrition. There will be diseases. It's a very serious matter of life and death for them."

The global system, on the other hand,"has the luxury of not doing anything and sitting down and wasting their time in Copenhagen or of fooling around in Cancun.

"They are governments who get paid, whether they are growing crops or not - no government officer grows many crops. However, for the ordinary people there's a lot of experiential knowledge they are gathering to be able to adjust and adapt to their circumstances."

Atiq Rahman was speaking during aBangladesh, organised by BCAS and the International Institute for Environment and Development.