Protesters call for people-centered climate action as COP30 continues

As world leaders gather in Belém, Brazil, for COP30, hundreds of young people, workers, and climate-affected communities marched in Dhaka on Friday, calling for climate justice and a fast, fair, and funded Just Transition that centres people rather than profits.

The demonstration, organised by YouthNet Global, Bangladesh Labour Foundation (BLF), National Alliance for Just Transition Bangladesh (NAJTB), and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), was held in solidarity with global actions under the banner #JustTransitionNow. Protesters demanded a revision of Bangladesh's Integrated Energy and Power Master Plan (IEPMP), which they say deepens dependence on imported fossil fuels rather than expanding affordable renewable energy.

Participants carried placards rejecting what they described as "false and fossil-based solutions", urging the government to scale up solar and wind investment with transparency, community participation, and equity. They also demanded stronger social protection, labour rights safeguards, adaptation finance, and grant-based climate finance instead of loan-heavy packages that deepen debt.

"A just transition means leaving no one behind as we move from pollution to solutions," said Sohanur Rahman, Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global and a youth delegate to Bangladesh's COP30 delegation. "Young people and workers are raising a united voice for a future built on jobs, justice, and dignity."

BLF Executive Director, AKM Ashraf Uddin, said workers remain on the frontline of climate impacts. "We call for a Just Transition that protects workers, strengthens social protection, and ensures climate finance reaches those who need it most."

Aruba Faruque, Deputy Executive Coordinator of YouthNet Global, added: "Climate justice is about fairness. Those who contributed least to the crisis must not bear its worst impacts. COP30 must deliver for vulnerable communities, youth, and workers."

Trade union leader, Naimul Ahsan Juwel, said informal sector workers face heightened climate vulnerability and called for unconditional debt relief, Loss and Damage finance, and a rights-based transition.

Demonstrators concluded by urging COP30 negotiators to adopt a renewable-centred agenda, operationalise Loss and Damage funding, and advance a Just Transition grounded in human rights, worker dignity, and intergenerational justice.