COP31 must prioritise climate action over new pledges: rights groups
Rights groups have called on the upcoming COP31 climate summit to prioritise the implementation of existing commitments over new pledges, urging developed countries to provide accessible, grant-based climate finance without adding to the debt burden of developing nations.
They also called for the delivery of the commitment to triple adaptation finance, faster and more direct disbursement of Loss and Damage funding to affected communities, and financial and technological support for a just transition away from fossil fuels.
The groups stressed that women farmers must receive dedicated, long-term adaptation finance and have an effective role in climate decision-making, warning that their contributions to agricultural production remain inadequately recognised in climate policies and development planning.
These demands were raised at a seminar titled COP31 and Bangladesh’s Priorities: Climate Crisis, Agriculture and Women; Adaptation, Finance and Justice, jointly organised by EquityBD, BCJF, COAST Foundation, AVAS, Bindu and Street Child at the CIRDAP Auditorium in Dhaka on Thursday.
Speakers said women farmers face growing risks from water scarcity, salinity, health hazards, insecure livelihoods, production losses and declining incomes. They argued that women should be recognised not simply as a vulnerable group but as independent producers and economic actors whose work is essential to food security and rural livelihoods.
They called for climate finance to be tracked to determine how much reaches women farmers and whether it improves agricultural production, income, access to resources, adaptive capacity and control over livelihoods, while reducing losses and the burden of unpaid labour.
The speakers also demanded equal access to productive resources, technology, markets and decision-making, integrated measures to address salinity and equal pay for women agricultural workers.
The seminar was moderated by Mostafa Kamal, director of COAST Foundation. The keynote paper was presented by M A Hasan, head of climate change at the foundation.
Dr Md Akter Hossain Khan, chief seed technologist at the Seed Wing of the Ministry of Agriculture, said grassroots organisations should unite to present their demands to the ministry.
He also called on the government to establish small-scale cold storage facilities at the local level, while noting that climate-resilient seeds were being developed and promoted for wider adoption.
Jasim Uddin, president of the Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB), said Bangladesh’s representatives in international climate negotiations needed to be more vocal and assertive.
“Although ours is an agriculture-based economy, our development planning has not been centred on agriculture. We have always focused on quantitative results,” he said.
Professor Mir Mohammad Ali of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University questioned whether carbon trading was genuinely addressing the climate crisis or allowing developed countries to continue greenhouse gas emissions under the banner of climate action.
Rahima Sultana Kajol, executive director of AVAS, said women farmers needed meaningful participation, leadership and decision-making power in local adaptation planning and agricultural policy.
Imtiaz Ridoy, team lead at Street Child Bangladesh, said existing policies did not adequately recognise women farmers as a distinct group, leaving gaps in the support available to them.
He proposed introducing a one-stop service for women farmers at the upazila level through the Department of Agricultural Extension. The platform would enable them to access services and assistance from different government departments without having to navigate multiple agencies.
Syed Aminul Haque, coordinator of EquityBD, said at least 50 per cent of climate finance should be allocated to adaptation at COP31, with strong evidence demonstrating the effective use of funds and the success of adaptation initiatives in Bangladesh.
He also called for a bottom-up approach to climate policies and strategies to ensure that funding reflects the needs and priorities of affected communities.
Speakers further stressed that people intended to benefit from adaptation measures must have a meaningful role in designing interventions and assessing their effectiveness. They said climate finance should be judged not only by the amount committed but also by whether it reaches affected people and produces measurable improvements in their lives.
Women farmers attending the seminar, including Nur Nahar Begum from Kuakata, Rina Begum from Satkhira, Kalpana Rani and Najma Begum, brought the concerns of agricultural communities into the discussion.
Other participants included representatives of civil society organisations, environmental groups, youth organisations and the media.
The seminar also heard calls for stronger action on salinity, improved access to climate-resilient agricultural technologies and greater recognition of women’s role in maintaining food production amid worsening climate pressures.
The speakers said Bangladesh’s priorities at COP31 should centre on securing predictable and accessible adaptation funding, ensuring accountability for existing climate commitments and making climate policies responsive to the needs of farmers and other frontline communities.
They argued that without direct financial support, meaningful participation and measurable outcomes, new international climate pledges would do little to address the daily challenges faced by women farmers and vulnerable agricultural communities.
