Climate change news from the ground, in a warming world Was this forwarded to you? Sign up here [[link removed]] Laurie Goering [[link removed]]

Climate editor

When 12-year-old Alamin and his family lost their home and farmland to river erosion last year, they fled to a slum close to Bangladesh's capital Dhaka. Now the former student works in a shipbreaking crew to support his mother and younger siblings, he told our correspondent Mosabber Hossain.

Like millions of children displaced by climate change impacts in Bangladesh, he's unlikely to ever return to school [[link removed]] - a reality the International Labour Organization warns could lead to new inter-generational cycles of poverty and child labour.

About 1.7 million children already work as labourers in Bangladesh, one in four of them 11 years or younger. Girls, often working as domestic help, rarely even show up in the statistics, UNICEF says.

As the fossil fuel emissions that drive climate change continue to rise, despite legions of net-zero promises, efforts to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius are lagging.

Scientists say there is now a 50% chance [[link removed]] the key barrier will be passed at least temporarily within five years - with worrying implications for Bangladesh's children and families everywhere.

Alamin, 12, whose family lost their home to climate change-driven erosion, works as part of a shipbreaking crew in Keraniganj, close to Dhaka, Bangladesh, March 22, 2022. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Mosabber Hossain

Efforts to build resilience early to strengthening climate impacts, from wildfires to droughts, floods and storms, are crucial - and they are happening, though funding remains limited.

In Zimbabwe, the government has set new construction standards [[link removed]] for rural homes to help them better stand up to extreme weather. It discourages building in wetlands and using traditional earthen bricks, which are often baked using firewood, leading to worsening deforestation.

Florence Panda, who lost her previous earth-block home to Cyclone Idai in 2019, now has a new one made of cement bricks, after spending too long living in a tent.

She feels safer - but paying $500 for building materials that were once free isn't something everyone will be able to afford, she warned our correspondent Tonderayi Mukeredzi.

Teresiah Mugo at her farm in Murang'a County, where a new water metering system means she no longer has to compete with farmers upstream for water, in Kiarutara, Kenya, March 14, 2022. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Caroline Wambui

In Kenya, adapting to drought turns out to be as simple as adding water meters [[link removed]] to irrigation systems.

Since farmers in Murang'a County moved from paying a flat fee for water access to being charged according to their use, upstream growers have turned off taps that once ran 24 hours - and often-parched downstream users are now getting regular supplies.

Since making the change, the irrigation project has been able to double its users, members told correspondent Caroline Wambui.

But in many parts of the world, the ability to grow, access and afford food is becoming more precarious as climate change and conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war disrupt global food systems. Are high food prices here to stay? We take a look [[link removed]].

And don't miss the latest in our Earth Focus film series, on a southern California community surrounded by delivery-service warehouses that is fighting for cleaner air. [[link removed]]

See you next week!

Laurie

Can Europe survive without Russian oil? Nuclear power may be key [[link removed]]

The EU ban on Russian fossil fuels over the war in Ukraine has forced Europe to reconsider nuclear as an energy alternative that could help meet ambitious climate change goals

As conflict and climate change bite, are high food prices here to stay? [[link removed]]

The era of cheap food may be ending as climate change, conflict and widespread poverty make food harder to grow and afford – but key policy shifts could help

Drought-hit Zimbabweans cut poverty and poaching by breeding bigger goats [[link removed]]

The project to breed bigger goats and raise incomes aims to help communities feed their families without wiping out local wildlife, as extreme weather hurts crops

Earth Focus: Fighting for Air [[link removed]]

"Fighting For Air" looks at the David and Goliath struggle for clean air in America's wealthiest state, as neighbors come together to fight the online shopping giants they say are poisoning the air they breathe

Climate disasters drive Bangladesh children from classrooms to work [[link removed]]

A growing flood of Bangladeshi children are seeing their education end permanently as they flee climate impacts for urban slums

Charging for wasted water helps more Kenyan farmers get a fair share [[link removed]]

A project to install irrigation meters has encouraged upstream farmers to use only what they need, leaving more for those downstream

Hit hard by storms and forest loss, Zimbabwe builds stronger homes [[link removed]]

New construction standards push Zimbabweans to swap traditional materials for cement bricks to protect homes from extreme weather, curb deforestation and conserve wetlands

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