Transport

Climate change is really at the centre of what's happening in Bangladesh, and the worst thing about it is that the vast majority of Bangladeshi people live completely sustainably.

Here are a couple of pictures of how Bangladeshi people use the limited means of transport for maximum use:

That's right, a CNG, or 'Compressed Natural Gas' rickshaw (they're all CNG, both greener and cheaper than petrol, and suitable as Bangladesh has small natural gas reserves but not much oil) filled with files, and a school bus bicycle (those are quite common).

When I have been roaring around Rajpur (northern Bangladesh) on the back of Salim or Mohammed's motorbike, I've counted the number of motorised vehicles that I've passed in what must be at least 7 hours of riding busy roads full of cycle rickshaws, bicycles, people walking, cattle, goat, sheep etc.

17 motorbikes

5 cars

3 lorries

2 buses.

at least 6 hours on the main roads. You don't have to wait 6 minutes on a main road near a town in rural England for 27 motorised vehicles to whizz past!

If there's been one resounding request from the native NGO workers when I've asked about what more England and the West could do to help the situation, they say stop climate change, or at least contribute towards desperately needed mitigation that the government just isn't equip to do, such as dredging the rivers, planting belts of trees along the coast and the roads and rivers, helping the poor with security, flood shelters etc. etc.

It makes me feel a bit stupid flying out here in the first place (despite the same people asking hopefully if I will come back to Bangladesh soon).