Tarique Rahman to Visit Turkey on November 10 to Attend COP31

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is scheduled to visit Turkey on November 10 to attend the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31). During his two-day visit, which will continue until November 12, he will take part in the high-level World Leaders’ Climate Action Summit.

Bangladesh’s main priorities at the conference will be to seek grant-based financing to address climate change losses and damages, increase funding for the Loss and Damage Fund, ensure accountability from developed countries and highlight the country’s achievements in climate adaptation.

The Prime Minister is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng. Diplomatic sources in Dhaka and Ankara have confirmed the information. The meetings are expected to take place on November 12. This year’s COP31 will be held at the Antalya Expo Centre in Turkey from November 9 to 20. The high-level sessions for world leaders are scheduled for November 11 and 12.

On November 2, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam informed journalists at the Foreign Ministry about the Prime Minister’s participation in the conference. She said the Prime Minister would make a brief visit and attend the two-day high-level sessions.

On November 5, Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo also told journalists at the Secretariat that the Prime Minister would leave for Turkey on November 10 and return home on November 12. According to preliminary information, the possible members of the Prime Minister’s delegation include Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo, State Minister for Foreign Affairs-1 Humayun Kabir and State Minister for Foreign Affairs-2 Shama Obaed. Dr Sayemum Parvez, the Prime Minister’s special assistant on environment, forest and climate change, may also join the visit.

Other possible members of the delegation include Dr Fahmida Khanam, acting secretary of the Environment Ministry; Additional Secretary Mohammad Navid Shafiullah; Department of Environment Director General Dr Md Lutfur Rahman; and Chief Conservator of Forests Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury.

The government is also planning to include young representatives in the climate discussions. The potential participants include climate activists Amanullah Parag, Zarif Tahmid and Samia Mehzabin Sneha. Preliminary information also suggests that the Prime Minister’s wife, Dr Zubaida Rahman, may accompany him. However, the full and final list of the delegation has not yet been officially announced.

Bangladesh will focus on four key issues at the conference. First, it will call for climate financing to be provided as grants rather than loans. Second, it will demand increased funding for the Loss and Damage Fund and faster disbursement of money to countries affected by climate change. Third, it will highlight the need to ensure accountability among developed countries, which are major contributors to global carbon emissions. Fourth, Bangladesh will present its own initiatives and achievements in addressing climate change to the international community.

Environment Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo told journalists at the Secretariat on November 5 that Bangladesh suffers economic losses of around $15.2 billion every year due to climate change. Taking these losses into account, the country will call for an increase in funding for the Loss and Damage Fund.

The Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Dr Sayemum Parvez said climate-vulnerable countries would jointly demand easier access to the fund at the conference. Bangladesh’s position paper highlights several major climate threats, including the melting of Himalayan glaciers, rising sea levels in the Bay of Bengal, increasing salinity in coastal areas, river erosion, floods and droughts.

A one-metre rise in sea level could submerge around 17 to 20 per cent of Bangladesh’s coastal land, potentially displacing about 30 million people. Increasing salinity is also threatening agricultural land, sources of safe drinking water and the biodiversity of the Sundarbans.

At the conference, Bangladesh will seek financial assistance, technology and capacity-building support to implement its National Adaptation Plan. It will particularly highlight the need to protect food security, water supplies, health and livelihoods in coastal areas, haor wetlands, river islands and drought-prone regions.

Bangladesh will also present its plans to expand the use of clean technologies in agriculture, industry, transport and energy, increase investment in renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions. The country will showcase its own initiatives at the conference. The government plans to highlight the resumption of canal excavation activities over the past six months, tree-planting programmes, increased solar power generation and initiatives in the renewable energy sector.

A special exhibition of jute products will also be organised to highlight their environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic and their commercial potential. A 100-square-metre pavilion is being set up for Bangladesh at the conference venue. It will showcase the country’s climate risks, adaptation experiences, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), National Adaptation Plan, Loss and Damage issues, climate financing, carbon markets and renewable energy initiatives.

The pavilion will also provide opportunities to hold meetings and exchange experiences with international development partners, research institutions and investors. During the Turkey visit, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is also expected to hold bilateral talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Discussions may cover trade, investment, defence, technology and economic cooperation.

The two sides may also discuss advancing negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and Turkey, joint initiatives to manufacture defence equipment and technology transfer. In addition, the Bangladeshi delegation is expected to hold discussions with Australian representatives on climate financing and with officials of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Turkey is hosting COP31 and leading the overall action agenda, while Australia is presiding over the main climate negotiations. As a result, Bangladesh is expected to hold several high-level meetings and discussions on climate financing, compensation for climate-related losses and damages, and adaptation efforts during the conference.