The draft incorporates submissions on climate impacts, loss and damage, finance and adaptation as Bangladesh prepares its negotiating priorities for COP31.
Bangladesh is advancing preparations for the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkey, with a committee reviewing a zero draft of the country’s position paper ahead of the November 9-20 conference, according to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
A second meeting of the subcommittee is scheduled for Monday to review proposals submitted by various government departments, experts, institutions and organisations. The proposals will form the basis for finalising Bangladesh’s position ahead of the summit.
The committee had sought proposals at a meeting held in September, including an assessment of the loss and damage suffered by human communities and nature in Bangladesh as a result of the adverse impacts of climate change. Based on those submissions, the ministry has prepared a zero draft, or preliminary draft, of the position paper.
Sources said the proposals have undergone an initial review and must now be examined and finalised by the committee. The draft position paper will then be finalised on the basis of the agreed proposals.
The United Nations climate conference COP31 will be held in Antalya from November 9 to 20. Turkey is hosting the conference, while Australia will lead the negotiations.
Pre-COP meetings are being held in the Pacific island nations of Fiji and Tuvalu from October 5 to 8, hosted by Fiji and Australia. A gathering of world leaders will be held in Tuvalu on October 5-6. Ministers and representatives from more than 50 countries are expected to take part in the meetings, which will be the last major ministerial-level gathering before the main COP in Antalya.
A climate summit position paper is an official or strategic document through which a country, organisation, alliance or civil society group sets out its position, demands, policies and proposals on different climate change issues.
It typically outlines positions on key issues including climate finance, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, adaptation and loss and damage. Vulnerable countries such as Bangladesh use their position papers to press for adequate compensation and technology support from developed countries.
For Bangladesh’s preparations and participation in COP31, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change formed a technical coordination committee and three subcommittees on August 18.
The 23-member technical coordination committee includes representatives from the ministry and other ministries, government departments and partner agencies, as well as leading climate experts in Bangladesh.
Among its members are Dr Mizan R. Khan of the LDC University Consortium on Climate Change; Md Shamsuddoha, chief executive of the Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD); Dr Liaquat Ali, director of BRAC; Advocate M. Hafizul Islam Khan, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Climate Justice; Dr Fazle Rabbi Sadek Ahmed, a climate finance specialist; Professor Dr Saifullah Islam of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET); and Dr Md Shahid Uz Zaman, an environmental expert.
The committee’s first meeting was held on September 6, followed by a second meeting on September 23. The meetings discussed Bangladesh’s overall preparations for COP31, its position in international climate negotiations, the establishment of a Bangladesh pavilion, side events and the participation of the country’s delegation.
The second meeting of the subcommittee is scheduled to be chaired by Mohammad Navid Shafullah, additional secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The meeting will discuss the zero draft of the position paper and proposals submitted by various departments and organisations.
