'Climate finance is justice, not charity', Hafij Khan tells UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
He warned that continued reliance on loan-based climate funding is deepening inequality and pushing climate-vulnerable nations into unsustainable debt cycles.
Bangladeshi environmental lawyer and loss-and-damage negotiator Mohammad Hafijul Islam Khan today (19 June) called for a fundamental reform of global climate finance, urging a shift from a charity-based approach to a justice-oriented system grounded in legal responsibility.
He also outlined a three-point reform proposal calling for grant-based climate finance instead of loans, simplified direct access for vulnerable communities and an end to fossil fuel subsidies, reads a press release.
He warned that continued reliance on loan-based climate funding is deepening inequality and pushing climate-vulnerable nations into unsustainable debt cycles.
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Speaking as a distinguished panellist at the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) annual discussion on climate change and human rights, Hafij argued that the current global climate finance system places a disproportionate burden on countries least responsible for emissions but most affected by climate impacts.
He stressed that climate finance must be treated as a binding obligation rooted in human rights principles rather than voluntary assistance.
The high-level panel was held at the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations during the ongoing 62nd session of the Council under the theme "Actionable pathways for climate financing to address the adverse impacts of climate change on the full realisation of human rights for all people".
The discussion brought together experts and practitioners to examine policy responses linking climate finance, human rights protection, and global climate governance.
The panel discussion, guided by Human Rights Council resolution 59/25, forms part of the broader 62nd UNHRC session running in Geneva until 7 July 2026, where climate justice and human rights remain central themes of global deliberations.
Hafij, the founder and director of the Centre for Climate Justice-Bangladesh (CCJ-B), was invited by UNHRC President Sidarto R Suryodipuro, reflecting growing recognition of frontline and climate-vulnerable country perspectives in international policy discussions.
