Novel Tribunal Gives Voice to Climate Change Victims

Shorbanu Khatun flew into the Thai capital to share her pain about being a victim of a natural disaster. In May, Cyclone Aila tore through her community along the coast of Bangladesh, adding another layer of misery to the 36-year- old’s already impoverished life.

She, however, was only one of many climate victims who shared their personal narratives of woe during a novel exercise – a mock trial – to shed light on the debilitating impact a rapidly warming planet is having on the millions of Asia’s poor.

The ‘Asian People’s Climate Tribunal’ was held in a banquet hall of a hotel a short distance away from where government negotiators from the developing and developed world are meeting at the two-week-long United Nations climate change talks that commenced on Sep. 28. Read more