Experts Urge Climate Justice, Accountability from Rich Nations

Symbolic Photo

The third Climate Justice Assembly 2025 opened in the capital on Saturday with renewed calls for climate justice, fair compensation and accountability from wealthy nations most responsible for global warming.

The two-day assembly was inaugurated at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University by Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Adviser Sharmeen S. Murshid, while Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter attended as the chief guest.

Organised by environmental platform Dhoritry Rokkhay Amra (DHORA), the event brought together around 2,000 participants, including policymakers, international climate activists, researchers and representatives of climate-affected communities.

In her inaugural address, Sharmeen S. Murshid said Bangladesh contributes minimally to global carbon emissions yet bears a disproportionate share of climate impacts.

“Bangladesh is on the frontline of climate change. Delays and inaction by countries of the Global North have pushed vulnerable nations into deeper losses and suffering,” she said.

She stressed that climate justice must move beyond rhetoric. “We are not indebted to industrialised nations; rather, they owe us for the damage caused. Climate justice today is about accountability and concrete action.”

Farida Akhter said climate justice is inseparable from survival and dignity, criticising the continued global reliance on fossil fuels. She pointed to gaps between commitments and implementation under international agreements, including the Paris Agreement.

“The Global North continues to offer loans instead of justice,” she said, calling for genuine financial responsibility from high-emitting countries.

The inaugural session was chaired by organising committee convener Dr Mujibur Rahman Howlader and moderated by Sharif Jamil, with a welcome address delivered by Sanjeeb Drong, general secretary of the Bangladesh Adibasi Forum.

Sharif Jamil said climate justice for Bangladesh is a matter of national survival, not an abstract demand. “Justice must begin at home if we are to demand it globally,” he added.

International speakers echoed similar concerns. Lidy Nacpil of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development urged a rapid global transition away from fossil fuels and stronger financial support for climate-vulnerable nations.

Other speakers included Asad Rehman of Friends of the Earth, Cynan Houghton of the Tara Climate Foundation, and Ashish Damle of Oxfam in Bangladesh.

Ahead of the assembly, more than a thousand local and international climate activists joined a procession from the university campus through Agargaon, demanding climate justice and immediate global action.