Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal have called for continued access to predictable, adequate and grant-based climate finance beyond their graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category, stressing that improved development status does not eliminate their vulnerability to climate change.
The three countries also called for stronger regional cooperation to address shared climate threats, including Himalayan glacier retreat, shifting monsoon patterns, transboundary river flows, extreme weather events, rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion.
The calls were made at a press conference titled “From Shared Vulnerability to Resilience in BBN: Advancing Adaptation and Finance Priorities at COP31”, organised by the Centre for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD) in collaboration with the Climate Justice Alliance–Bangladesh (CJA-B) at the COP31 venue in Antalya on Saturday.
The event brought together government officials, climate experts and civil society representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal to advocate for a vulnerability-based approach to climate adaptation and financing under the United Nations climate negotiations.
Speakers highlighted the interconnected nature of climate risks across the three countries, despite their differing geographical and economic circumstances. They described the region as a shared mountain-to-delta system that requires coordinated regional responses rather than isolated national initiatives.
Moderating the discussion, Md Shamsuddoha, chief executive of CPRD, said LDC graduation should not be regarded as graduation from climate vulnerability.
He called for greater flexibility in accessing international climate finance after graduation, arguing that development achievements should not become a barrier to securing resources for climate adaptation.
Presenting the keynote paper, Sheikh Nur Ataya Rabbi, programme manager for research and advocacy at CPRD, emphasised the need for a collective Bangladesh-Bhutan-Nepal (BBN) agenda on climate adaptation and finance at COP31.
He said coordinated regional advocacy and a common position were essential to ensure that the international community recognises both the individual vulnerabilities of the three countries and their shared climate risks.
Dr Shah Abdul Saadi, joint secretary at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) under the Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh, said climate-related weather events were becoming increasingly frequent, intense, prolonged and unpredictable, with impacts extending across the Ganges-Meghna-Brahmaputra (GMB) basin.
He noted that many vulnerable communities and geographical areas remain inadequately represented in climate planning and financing due to gaps in vulnerability mapping, risk assessments, institutional coordination and resource allocation.
Saadi underscored the importance of cross-border cooperation among civil society organisations to strengthen advocacy, generate evidence-based policy recommendations and develop institutional mechanisms to address transboundary climate risks.
He also called for interoperable regional early warning systems, stressing that their effectiveness depends not only on coverage but also on whether vulnerable communities can access and use the information.
He urged countries to mobilise financial and technological resources at a scale and pace commensurate with the growing climate threats.
Manjeet Dhakal, head of the LDC Support Team and director of Climate Analytics South Asia, described Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as an interconnected mountain-to-delta climate and development corridor linked through the Himalayas and the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin.
He said the region's shared climate risks could not be adequately addressed through individual country-based approaches.
Instead, he proposed recognising BBN as a regional adaptation hub, with climate finance and planning guided by actual vulnerabilities and adaptation needs.
Md Ziaul Haque, additional director general (PRL) of the Department of Environment under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bangladesh, also called for continued international support following LDC graduation.
He said graduation reflected development progress rather than the disappearance of climate vulnerability, emphasising the need to align national adaptation priorities with climate financing mechanisms under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Haque stressed that grant-based support should be maintained through financing arrangements that take account of future climate risks and countries' fiscal capacities.
He also called for ensuring that international climate finance reaches nationally identified and costed adaptation priorities on appropriate terms, supported by coordinated regional advocacy.
Ruchi Chaudhary, programme manager at Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA), urged governments and civil society organisations across the BBN region to pursue a coordinated, vulnerability-centred adaptation agenda.
She said the three countries had demonstrated sustained climate leadership despite facing significant climate risks and resource constraints.
Referring to the BBN Alliance's advocacy at COP28, COP29 and COP30, she highlighted the importance of transboundary risk monitoring, regional early warning systems, locally led adaptation, transparent climate finance delivery and accountability to vulnerable communities.
She also called for aligning adaptation priorities with low-carbon development pathways under Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Low-Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS).
THREE KEY PRIORITIES
The press conference outlined three major policy priorities for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal at COP31 and in subsequent climate negotiations.
The first is to place vulnerability-centred adaptation at the forefront of global climate negotiations, ensuring that financial and technical support reflects equity, human rights and the interconnected climate risks facing the three countries.
The second is to ensure continued access to adequate, predictable, accessible and grant-based adaptation finance beyond LDC graduation. Speakers emphasised that future financing arrangements should consider actual and projected climate vulnerabilities, national adaptation requirements and fiscal capacities rather than relying solely on development classifications.
The third is to strengthen regional cooperation through a common BBN advocacy and negotiating agenda, focusing on interoperable early warning systems, locally led adaptation, transparent climate finance delivery and accountability to vulnerable communities.
Concluding the discussion, speakers called on governments, civil society organisations and international development partners to work towards a more equitable global adaptation framework that recognises climate vulnerability beyond conventional economic and development classifications.
They stressed that countries should not lose access to essential climate support solely because of an improvement in their development status while their communities continue to face growing climate risks.