Rights groups urge COP31 to triple adaptation finance 

Rights groups called on the upcoming UN climate conference, COP31, to prioritise implementation of existing climate commitments over making new pledges, urging developed countries to provide adequate, accessible and grant-based climate finance without increasing the debt burden on developing nations.

They also called for the fulfillment of the commitment to triple adaptation finance, ensuring that loss and damage funding reaches affected communities quickly and directly, and providing the necessary finance and technology transfer to support a just transition away from fossil fuels.

Speakers at a seminar in Dhaka on Thursday stressed that communities affected by climate change must have a meaningful role in planning, implementing and evaluating adaptation measures. 

The seminar, titled “COP31 and Bangladesh’s Priorities: Climate Crisis, Agriculture and Women; Adaptation, Finance and Justice,” was jointly organised by EquityBD, BCJF, COAST Foundation, AVAS, Bindu and Street Child at the CIRDAP Auditorium in Dhaka.

MA Hasan, head of climate change at the COAST Foundation, presented the keynote paper while Mostafa Kamal, director of the foundation, moderated the discussion.

The speakers particularly highlighted the growing challenges faced by women farmers, including shortages of safe water, insecurity, limited access to technology and healthcare, and losses in agricultural production and income.

The speakers urged policymakers to recognise women farmers as independent producers and economic actors rather than merely as a vulnerable group. They called for dedicated, long-term adaptation finance for women farmers, equal access to productive resources, technology, markets and decision-making, and measures to address salinity and ensure equal pay for women agricultural workers.

Dr Md Akter Hossain Khan, chief seed technologist of the Seed Wing under the Ministry of Agriculture, called for grassroots organisations to unite and present their demands to the ministry. He also urged the government to establish small-scale cold storage facilities at the local level to support farmers. He said climate-resilient seeds were being developed and promoted to help farmers cope with the effects of climate change.

AKM Jasimuddin, executive director of ADB, said Bangladesh’s representatives in international climate negotiations needed to be more vocal and assertive in advancing the country’s interests. Although Bangladesh has an agriculture-based economy, development planning has not given agriculture the priority it deserves, he said, adding that policymakers had traditionally focused on quantitative results.

Prof Mir Mohammad Ali of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University questioned whether carbon trading, presented as a climate action mechanism, was effectively allowing developed countries to continue emitting greenhouse gases.

Among others, Rahima Sultana Kajol, executive director of AVAS; Imtiaz Ridoy, country lead of Street Child Bangladesh; Syed Aminul Haque, coordinator of EquityBD, women farmers Nur Nahar Begum of Kuakata, Rina Begum of Satkhira, Kalpana Rani and Najma Begum also took part in the discussion, alongside representatives of civil society organisations, youth groups and the media.

The speakers emphasised that climate justice requires not only international commitments but also accessible funding, effective implementation and accountability to the communities most affected by climate change.