A Climate of Many Changes: Knowledge Politics of Climate Impacts

• In Event: 30883 - The Politics of Climate and Environmental Policy

Abstract

As climate change accelerates and sea levels rise, the coastal regions around have become pivotal sites in global climate discourse. Bangladesh, frequently depicted by international financial institutions and media outlets as disproportionately vulnerable to climate change, is often framed as a microcosm of the broader challenges faced by low-lying nations. This paper argues that such portrayals are intrinsically linked to the strategic and market-driven narratives surrounding the global climate crisis. Employing a political ecology framework, media analysis, and fieldwork conducted in southwestern Bangladesh, the study critically examines how knowledge production and dissemination neglect key political-economic factors when discussing issues such as migration, dispossession, and ecological transformations (MDE). The research addresses two central questions: (1) To what extent do institutional narrative in media reflect the lived realities of communities affected by climate change? and (2) Do such narratives neglect how economic factors contribute to MDE? The findings suggest that prevailing narratives oversimplify the issue by focusing narrowly on climate change, thereby overlooking the economic drivers of social and environmental degradation. This paper contributes to critical scholarship on the ways in which Bangladesh's perceived existential vulnerability obscures the deeper political and economic forces exacerbating its environmental and social challenges. It concludes with a discussion of why effective climate policies must address socio-political factors shaping local communities in coastal areas around the world.

Author

• Nikhil Deb, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo