BYLC, DoE train youths for climate negotiations ahead of COP31

The Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC), in collaboration with the Department of Environment (DoE), has organised a workshop to prepare young people to participate in international climate negotiations ahead of the COP31 summit in Türkiye next month.

The workshop, titled ‘Climate Change Negotiation’, was held at BYLC headquarters in Dhaka on Saturday in partnership with the Alliance for Sustainable Development Foundation (ASDF).

More than 50 young people committed to climate action took part in the workshop, some of whom are expected to attend COP31, scheduled to take place in Antalya, Türkiye, in November.

The organisers said young people in Bangladesh, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, need a better understanding of global climate negotiations and the decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods.

The sessions covered the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process, the Paris Agreement, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), climate finance, adaptation, loss and damage, and leadership for climate justice. Participants also practised negotiation strategies and discussed climate challenges facing Bangladesh.

Dr Fazle Rabbi Sadeque Ahmed, adviser to the Climate Change and Disaster Management Division at the Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), attended the workshop as the chief guest.

He urged participants to study previous COP negotiations to understand countries’ priorities, compromises and outcomes, saying such lessons were vital to negotiating a more just and resilient future for Bangladesh.

Mirza Shawkat Ali, director of climate change and international convention at the DoE, said young people needed to develop effective negotiation skills, stressing that meaningful change required listening, building common ground and finding solutions that worked for all parties.

Ejaj Ahmad, founder and executive chairperson of BYLC, said climate literacy was no longer optional for Bangladesh, given the country’s vulnerability to climate change.

He said young people needed to understand climate science, the sources of emissions, mitigation and adaptation measures, and climate finance to influence decisions that would shape their lives for decades.

“Building this capacity is about long-term thinking,” he said, adding that BYLC was preparing a generation to lead Bangladesh through the climate challenges of the century.

The sessions were facilitated by senior government officials and climate experts, including Md Ziaul Haque, additional director general (PRL) of the DoE; Md Yusuf Mehedi, assistant director of the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Md Mahbub Hasan, founder and executive director of ASDF.

BYLC and its partners aim to strengthen young Bangladeshis’ capacity to engage in climate issues and bring their perspectives into national climate policymaking, with the goal of making Bangladesh’s representation at COP31 and future climate negotiations more informed and inclusive.