COP29 in the eyes of Bangladesh’s climate youth activists
For the youth activists, two things have emerged at COP29 this year: a scope to meet and network with others who are essentially on the same boat in the Global South and to see how “talks” play out on the global stage — which continues to fall short of expectations
In 2016, Sohanur Rahman went to Patuakhali while working on a UNICEF-funded documentary on char's children. He visited Char Anda in Rangabali, which is home to 8,000 people, and saw firsthand how Bangladeshis were affected by climate change.
"The people do not only lose their homes to rising water levels but also become completely disconnected from the mainland," said Sohan.
These places have high rates of child marriages and school dropouts. "The girls cannot study beyond the fifth grade mainly because they have to travel to another char for school. They do not emit greenhouse gases, they do not have ACs or refrigerators. But they are bearing the brunt of climate change," he added.
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This one visit set the course for Sohan. He decided to dedicate his life to fighting climate change after witnessing the "injustice".
"We cannot really understand the effects of climate change from Dhaka city or Barishal Sadar unless you go to these chars," he added.
After coming back, Sohan, a Jhalakathi resident and Barishal's University of Global Village student, founded YouthNet Global the same year.
Currently, it is a vast network of 20,000 climate youth activists who work at the grassroots level, with Sohan as the executive coordinator.
This year was Sohan's fourth time attending UNFCCC's Conference of the Parties (COP). But COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, held in November, was 27-year-old Sohan's first time joining the official Bangladesh delegation, which included Chief Adviser Dr Yunus.
However, he was not the only Bangladeshi climate youth activist.
Climate youth activists caught the world's imagination in 2018 with 15-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg's Friday school strikes. This global cohort not only advocates for increased climate finance and protection for vulnerable communities but also strongly (and rightfully) feels they are getting the short end of the stick.
After all, it is this group that will inherit a dying planet.
'Every COP is the final COP'
"Wherever we joined [discussions, networking opportunities, panels], we tried to convey our sufferings. But just not that, we also voiced our resilient, adaptive capacity as a nation to the world," said Saila Sobnom Richi, a 2nd-year student at the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerabilities Studies, University of Dhaka.
"It was the final COP; actually every COP is the final COP," she added, explaining that as climate change is only getting worse, every conference is the final call to fix things.
Born and raised in Barishal, Saila moved to Dhaka two years ago with her sister, who attends another public university. In the last four years, she has worked with Brac, ActionAid and others on climate change activism.
She is currently an ICCAD Youth Fellow and the coordinator of Media and Movement Building at YouthNet Bangladesh.
"My interest was the environment. Honestly, I was not aware of climate change when I was young, but I wanted to work for the environment, to protect it," she recalled. When she first came across YouthNet Global and met Sohan (also from Barishal) she became invested in climate change advocacy and policy.
This was her first time attending COP. Asked about her opinion on the final agreement of $300 billion annually from the developed countries, she said, "This is nothing!"
She expressed her frustration at the irony of calling this COP "a finance COP" and then for the developing countries to protest for a fair climate change commitment.
At the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) pavilion, Saila presented a documentary on internally displaced persons — climate refugees — residing in Dhaka's slums. "We focused on women and children. The response was positive," she said.
Saila also pointed out the lack of youth representation at the conference. At the Bangladesh Pavilion during the two weeks of COP, she hardly saw any youths at the panels. "This does not make much sense."
Sohan, who was one of the climate youth activists at a panel, said, "If I were to compare this year with my past three times at COP, I have to say there were more climate youth activists from Bangladesh this time around."
Sohan met CA Dr Yunus, who highlighted three things — knowledge, finance and transition — at this meet. "This was also the first time I was recognised for my work and received a badge [representing the interim government]," he added.
While it is a positive change, there is a huge scope to include more youth activists, Sohan reiterated. He was also named one of the five laureates of the Young Activists Summit (YAS) 2024. "After the first week at COP, I went to Geneva to receive the honour along with four others from around the world. This is not exclusive to climate change but rather all issues across the board."
Keeping emotions in check
It was the first COP for Jimran Mohammad Saiak from Cox's Bazar. "I remember the internally displaced persons from Maheshkhali who would flock to [and still do] Najirer Tek in Teknaf. Seeing the helplessness of these people is what compelled me to join the fight against climate change," he recalled.
In 2019, he joined YouthNet Global as a general member and then became the district coordinator of Cox's Bazar. He currently works on central communication for the non-profit. This year, he also got funding from another organisation to attend COP.
At home, these climate youth activists work on raising awareness about climate change and work with the most affected and marginalised groups. They generally work in partnership with other NGOs and INGOs for their outreach programmes.
At COP29, Jimran saw how the integration of grassroots voices was a global call from activists and researchers around the world.
Two things seem to have emerged at COP: a scope to meet and network with others who are essentially on the same boat in the Global South; and see how "talks" play out on the global stage — which continue to fall short of expectations.
For first-timers at COP, especially climate youth activists, the experience was an "emotional" one.
It was also SM Shahin Alam's first time at COP, who took the stage on the Bangladesh pavilion panel. "I was happy to voice and express my community's vulnerabilities on a global stage; [tell] my community's story," he said.
Born and raised in the coastal union of Padmapukur in Satkhira, 24-year-old Shahin (along with his family) had been displaced 12 times by cyclones and floods (such as Aila, Amphan, and Bulbul). At the time of Aila, his house was underwater for two years and his school had been used as a cyclone shelter.
Years ago, Shahin realised how child marriage and school dropouts, among other ails, are deeply intertwined with climate change. In his isolated community, he was active on social media. "I started to follow those advocating for climate change, including Great Thunberg. Through this medium, I came across YouthNet in Bangladesh," he explained.
Shahin is currently a third-year sociology and social work student at Gono Bishwabidyalay in Savar, where he moved to two years ago. He leads a team of over 100 people in Satkhira as a district coordinator of YouthNet and plans to move back after graduation.
The widely talked about double standards at COP29 was not lost on the climate youth activists, along with the conference's shortcomings. For instance, the OPEC secretary general and the president of Azerbaijan both described fossil fuels as "a gift from God".
But Sohan said, "One key lesson I learned from COP29 is that geopolitical tensions, while challenging, can also serve as a catalyst for innovative climate solutions if approached with strategic collaboration."
He added, "Azerbaijan's leadership role as a fossil fuel-reliant host underscored the importance of leveraging such platforms to showcase transitions towards renewable energy and just transition models. It became clear that fostering trust among nations, even amidst conflict, is crucial for ambitious climate action. Strengthening multilateralism and ensuring that the most vulnerable communities remain central to negotiations is the only path forward."
