ABSTRACT
A burgeoning body of research in South Asia has discussed how power and politics play a vital role in climate policymaking. However, the discussions on local politics and its influence on climate change actions have been limited across South Asia. The comparative understanding of how “politics” influence the climate actions of the state and the community is further limited in the South Asian context. Focusing on two coastal regions of India and Bangladesh, this chapter attempts to address these knowledge gaps through reviews, cases, and discussions. To begin with, this chapter reviews the power and politics of adaptation to climate change. Second, it conceptualizes adaptation and briefly discusses the politics of adaptation to climate change through selected literature. Third, it reviews the climate action programs of India and Bangladesh with their historical setups, and gradually unfolds the dynamics of how local politics and power in realities influence the local climate action programs in selected regions of India and Bangladesh. On Bangladesh’s part, it is evident that the country faces significant challenges in adapting climate action plans at the community level due to the interference of local politics manifested through the practice of social supremacy, the process of marginalization and social exclusion, corruption, and illegal land grabbing, and top-down approach of policymaking. This chapter finally concludes by highlighting the knowledge gaps and the areas to be explored in the future to understand the influence of local politics in shaping the outcomes of the climate action programs in South Asia.
