A look at what developing countries can demonstrate to the world about climate resiliency and the importance of community-based activism in implementing societal change.
While most developing countries only make up a small percentage of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, they’re often the ones on the front lines dealing with impact of the climate crisis. This is especially true for low-lying countries and island nations that are vulnerable to flooding caused by sea level rise and more intensive storm systems due to warming oceans.
On today’s episode we hear first from Sarah Nandudu, the vice chairperson of the National Slum Dwellers Federation of Uganda. She discusses efforts to organize locally both to help reduce waste and to spread important health information about COVID-19.
Our featured guest is Saleemul Huq, the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh. Huq says Bangladesh has already leapfrogged many developed countries when it comes to things like hurricane preparedness. He says other countries should follow Bangladesh’s lead in investing in human capital to come up with innovative solutions for adapting and living with a changing climate. His organization supports leaders like Nandudu who are finding ways spread sustainable practices locally.
Interested in learning more in the runup to COP26, the United Nations climate conference? We’re offering free access to an FP Analytics briefing called “Firm Zero-Emission Power.” Normally that’s only available to FP Insider subscribers, but you can read the report for free by submitting your email. Go to https://foreignpolicy.com/cop26 to learn more.
About Heat of the Moment: The climate change crisis can feel so formidable, so daunting, that instead of mobilizing people to action, it engenders paralysis. What could we mortals possibly do to prevent the calamity? A fair bit, it turns out. On Heat of the Moment, a 10-part podcast by FP Studios, in partnership with the Climate Investment Funds, we focus on ordinary people across the globe who have found ways to fight back. Hosted by CNN contributor John D. Sutter, Heat of the Moment tells the stories of the people on the front lines of the fight against climate change. See All Episodes
More Heat of the Moment episodes:
Building a Life-Giving Economy
A conversation with climate writer and podcaster Katherine Wilkinson.
Why Saving Forests Involves Rethinking Jobs
And how to bolster better paying jobs in the global south while confronting the climate crisis.
Seeking Justice in Cancer Alley
Heat of the Moment heads south to the U.S. Gulf Coast, an area with a long history of fossil fuel extraction and the health problems that come with it.
Other Foreign Policy podcasts:

The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women