Dhaka climate strike demands just transition, renewable energy reform

As world leaders gather in Belém, Brazil, for the COP30, hundreds of young people, workers and climate-affected communities strike in Dhaka on Friday demanding climate justice, a renewable energy-based revision of Bangladesh’s fossil-fuel-heavy energy master plan (IEPMP) and a fast, fair, and funded Just Transition that protects people and the planet.

Organized by YouthNet Global, Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF), National Alliance for Just Transition Bangladesh (NAJTB) and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), the strike took place in solidarity with global actions under the slogan ''JustTransitionNow''. 

Participants called for urgent commitments to ensure that the shift to renewable energy is rooted in justice; protecting workers’ rights, expanding social protection, scaling up adaptation, operationalizing Loss & Damage finance and delivering equitable, grant-based climate finance.

At the demonstration, activists carried banners rejecting false and fossil fuel-based solutions in Bangladesh’s current energy plan and demanded a transition centered on people, not profit. 

They stressed that a true Just Transition must safeguard livelihoods, advance gender equality, uphold labor rights and ensure meaningful participation of youth, workers, and frontline communities in all climate decision-making. 

Protesters also urged the government to accelerate investments in solar and wind energy with transparency, community inclusion, and equity.

Sohanur Rahman, Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global and a youth delegate to Bangladesh’s COP30 delegation, said “A just transition means leaving no one behind as we move from pollution to solutions. Through this strike, young people and workers are raising a united voice for a future built on jobs, justice and dignity; that’s what climate justice truly means.”

He also added, “activists rejected what they termed false and fossil-based solutions, calling instead for transparent investment in solar and wind power, community inclusion in planning and equitable access to grant-based climate finance.”

AKM Ashraf Uddin, Executive Director of Bangladesh Labour Foudation, stated: “As workers in Bangladesh stand at the frontline of climate change, their livelihoods, health and future remain at risk. At the Global Climate Strike 2025, we call for a Just Transition that protects workers, strengthens social protection, and ensures climate finance reaches those who need it most. While COP30 is ongoing, we demand climate justice for workers; no one must be left behind.”

Leading the Dhaka strike, Aruba Faruque, Deputy Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global, emphasized: “Climate justice is about fairness; ensuring that those who contributed least to the crisis are not left to bear its worst impacts. Our generation demands that climate action prioritize people, not profits. The Just Transition is not only about energy—it’s about equity, dignity and the right to a liveable future for every community. COP30 must deliver for vulnerable communities, youth, and workers.”

A key demand of the strike was a revision of Bangladesh’s IEPMP, which deepens reliance on expensive, polluting fossil fuel imports while also urging for a greater share of grant-based international climate finance, operationalization of Loss and Damage funding and unconditional debt relief for the country.

Trade union leaders highlighted the heightened climate vulnerability of the country’s workers. Senior trade union leader Naimul Ahsan Juwel added: “Bangladesh’s workers; especially in the informal sector—face severe climate risks. As we join the Global Climate Strike, trade unions call for climate finance, Loss & Damage action and a Just Transition that protects jobs and rights. Workers shouldn’t bear the burden of a crisis they didn’t create.” 

Protesters underscored that no one should be left behind in the Just Transition and that climate justice must incorporate economic, gender, and worker justice. They called for global solidarity to hold governments and corporations accountable for ensuring that COP30 delivers for vulnerable communities, youth, and workers.

Concluding the Dhaka demonstration, youth and labour rights activists reaffirmed their solidarity with global climate movements and urged COP30 decision-makers to deliver a renewable, inclusive and grant-supported global climate agenda that strengthens adaptation, the expansion of sustainable renewable energy, operationalizes Loss & Damage funding and advances a Just Transition grounded in human rights, worker dignity and intergenerational justice.

SB/SH