Staff Correspondent:

Bangladesh’s immediate challenge is mobilising finance to protect vulnerable communities through adaptation and loss-and-damage measures, Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan said on Sunday.

She highlighted the country’s key climate priorities ahead of global negotiations in a meeting with the Ambassadors of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden — Christian Brix Møller, Håkon Arald Gulbrandsen, and Nicolas Weeks — at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Rizwana called for greater adaptation support, the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund, and a just transition across key sectors.

Referring to the water crisis in coastal areas caused by salinity intrusion, she proposed community-based rainwater harvesting as a cost-effective solution to ensure safe drinking water during the dry season.

She urged development partners to support such innovative and bankable resilience projects.

The Nordic envoys lauded Bangladesh’s proactive role and pledged continued cooperation in renewable energy, wind power, green shipping, and adaptation finance. Both sides stressed the need for stronger bilateral and regional cooperation to amplify the voices of climate-vulnerable countries.

Rizwana expressed optimism that with political will and partnerships, the upcoming climate talks could yield tangible progress on adaptation funding, loss-and-damage implementation, and community-led resilience.

Earlier in the day, at the Regional Infrastructure Monitoring Alliance (RIMA) Conference 2025 in Dhaka, she emphasised the importance of people-centred investment.

“Investment without debate, safeguards, and public consent risks harming both people and the environment,” Rizwana said. “Good investment protects nature, respects people’s voices, and builds resilience.”

Additional secretaries Mohammad Navid Shafiullah and Md Khayrul Hasan, joint secretaries Dharitri Kumar Sarkar and Md Rezaul Karim of the environment ministry, and Nayoka Martinez Backstrom, first secretary of the Swedish Embassy, attended the meeting.