Staff Reporter :
Members of civil society organisations (CSOs), including representatives from Bangladesh, have called for a concrete commitment from major polluting nations to end fossil fuel dependence in the pursuit of a de-carbonised future.
Representatives from the Most Vulnerable Countries (MVCs) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) made the demand on Monday at the ongoing COP-29 Global Climate Conference in Baku, according to a press release.
Meanwhile, Chief Adviser to the Interim Government, Prof Dr Muhammad Yunus, departed for Baku, Azerbaijan, to attend the conference.
Shafiqul Alam, the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary, confirmed that Prof Yunus and his delegation departed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday.
Alam stated that Prof Yunus will be on an official visit from November 11 to 14, during which he will highlight Bangladesh’s concerns and the challenges it faces due to climate change.
As one of the country’s most vulnerable to climate change, Bangladesh will showcase its leadership in climate action to the global community.
This marks Prof Yunus’s second foreign trip since he assumed the role of Chief Adviser of the interim government on August 8, following the end of the Awami League administration amid a student-led uprising on August 5.
His first international engagement was at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Before departing for Baku, the Chief Adviser inaugurated a special lounge at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport dedicated to migrant workers.
At COP-29, civil society representatives also advocated for a commitment by wealthier nations to allocate a percentage of their Gross National Income (GNI) to support the New Collective and Quantified Goal (NCQG) on Climate Finance for 2025-2030.
Representatives from various civil society organisations, including Avishek Shrestha from DBI-Nepal, Soumya Datta from India, Tetet Neura Lauron from Rosa Luxemburg in the Philippines, Thailk Kariyawasan from Sri Lanka, and Mrityunjoy from Bangladesh, shared their perspectives.
The keynote address on civil society expectations was delivered by Aminul Hoque from EquityBD, Bangladesh.
In his address, Aminul Hoque criticised global leaders for falling short in both mitigation and financing commitments, introducing vague ideas that dilute the priorities of the MVCs.
He cited the proposed Climate Finance Action Fund (CFAF) as a vague initiative that distracts from the demand for a trillion-dollar financing commitment from developed nations under the NCQG framework.
Hoque emphasised several key demands on behalf of civil society, urging developed countries to honour their mitigation and financing commitments for the 2025-2035 period.
He called for a political declaration from major emitters to phase out all coal and fossil fuel-based power plants by 2040 to help achieve meaningful impacts by 2050.
Tetet Neura Lauron further criticised the dependency on private sector finance, which she argued is insufficiently participatory and poses challenges to public finance priorities.
She expressed concern that the NCQG includes carbon trading measures that favour private sector interests.
“We urgently need public finance policies aligned with a 1.5-degree pathway, rooted in global and local equity for a just transition,” she asserted.
