United News of Bangladesh

Bangladeshi young people have declared 2025 as the “Year of People’s NDC,” urging the government to adopt inclusive and people-centered climate policies as part of its third Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) under the Paris Agreement. The announcement was made at a demonstration at the Jatiya Press Club in the capital on Wednesday and spearheaded by Youth4NDCs with 12 other prominent organisations, including YouthNet Global. As Bangladesh prepares to submit its revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the initiative aligns with key insights from the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement. The move seeks to recalibrate national climate goals to better reflect grassroots realities and drive more effective action. Ancient climate crisis offers warning on modern ocean acidification: study Amanullah Porag, founder and executive director of Youth4NDCs, emphasised the urgency, saying, “Bangladesh’s NDC 3.0 must be ambitious and rooted in the realities of its people. We have just five years to meet the 1.5°C target. This is a pivotal moment for our country to lead by example.” Youth4NDCs has launched a petition aiming to collect 100,000 signatures within six months, urging the government to prioritise a people-centric approach in NDC 3.0. The campaign calls for ambitious climate commitments grounded in grassroots realities and public aspirations. The campaign focuses on establishing a bottom-up approach to the NDC revision process, ensuring meaningful youth participation through formal mechanisms. It also highlights priorities such as climate resilience, locally-led adaptation and nature-based solutions to protect the nation’s most vulnerable populations. “This is not just about climate targets; it’s about justice and equity for all,” said Sohanur Rahman, executive coordinator of YouthNet Global. “Empowering young people for climate action, locally-led adaptation, gender equality, and a just transition is essential to ensure that marginalized communities have their voices heard in our national climate plan,” he added.

Speakers at a side event during the UN Climate Summit COP29 highlighted the importance of engaging men and boys alongside women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals to address the climate crisis. The event, organized by Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN), was held in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday. During the event, speakers emphasized the urgent need for climate solutions that are inclusive and gender-equitable, advocating for systemic changes that challenge patriarchal systems. Representing YouthNet Global, Jimran Mohammad Saiak presented the COP29 Sign-On Statement, titled “Achieving Climate Justice by Challenging Patriarchy.” Developed by the MenEngage Alliance's Global Working Group on Climate Justice, this statement advocates for a transformative approach to climate action, challenging entrenched patriarchal norms and championing feminist climate justice. The statement calls for the active involvement of men and boys as allies in supporting feminist climate goals and emphasizes the central role of women in leading sustainable climate efforts. “We cannot achieve climate justice without dismantling the structures that uphold inequality,” Saiak said on behalf of YouthNet Global. “Engaging men as allies is crucial in building a just and equitable future for all.” Sohanur Rahman, executive coordinator, YouthNet Global said, “Achieving a just transition to a sustainable future requires dismantling patriarchal structures. Engaging men and boys as partners in climate justice is vital to achieving gender equality in climate solutions.” The statement was endorsed by a coalition of global organizations, including YouthNet for Climate Justice (Bangladesh), MenEngage Alliance (Global), MÄN (Sweden), RoSa vzw (Belgium), and Unako Organisation (Africa). CSOs demand a clear and meaningful framework on NCQG based on equity and justice The COP29 Sign-On Statement, which YouthNet Global supported at the event, calls for comprehensive action on several fronts: transforming patriarchal norms that contribute to gender inequality and environmental degradation; integrating gender-responsive policies into climate action; ensuring accountability in climate decision-making; equitable climate financing from Global North countries to support vulnerable regions; protection for environmental and human rights defenders; and a transition to a caring, people-centered economy that prioritizes well-being over profit. Activists and academics, such as Dr. Stephen Burrell from the University of Melbourne and Martin Hultman from Chalmers University of Technology, have also backed the statement.