A two-day climate justice assembly in Dhaka will unite 1,500 frontline community representatives to detail escalating ecological threats and craft a People’s Declaration guiding national and global advocacy ahead of COP31.
The third Climate Justice Assembly (CJA-2025) begins tomorrow in Dhaka (capital of Bangladesh), bringing together grassroots leaders from climate-hit communities, national policymakers and global advocacy networks.
Organised by Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (DHORA), the two-day assembly on 13–14 December at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University will convene nearly 1,500 participants, including fishers, farmers, women, Indigenous leaders, workers and youth representatives from more than ten frontline communities across Bangladesh. Over 60 conveners and 10 working groups have prepared the event in partnership with national, regional and global organisations.
The assembly opens Saturday morning with a climate rally, followed by an inaugural session featuring Sharmeen Murshid, Adviser to the Interim Government, who will formally launch the gathering. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Lidy Nacpil, Coordinator of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development, with reflections from Asad Rehman of Friends of the Earth UK. Solidarity messages are expected from Oxfam, Tara Climate Foundation and leaders of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.
Three major plenaries on Day 1 will examine the deepening climate catastrophe, the socio-economic impacts of energy transition and governance challenges. Speakers include senior Bangladeshi officials, climate finance experts and campaigners from Japan, China, Australia, India, Pakistan, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand. Sessions will highlight threats to the Sundarbans, marine ecosystems, haor wetlands, Indigenous territories, agriculture, fisheries and salt farms.
Community leaders will present testimonies from the Bay of Bengal coast, documenting collapsing fisheries, salinisation, declining crop yields and worsening industrial pollution. Speakers will highlight threats to the Sundarbans World Heritage Site, haor wetlands, marine habitats, Indigenous territories and endangered ecosystems such as the Barind Tract and Chuna Wildlife Sanctuary.
Designated discussants will link these impacts to global political failures, including what CPRD chief executive Md Shamsuddoha calls “political backsliding at COP30”, while youth representatives will outline the growing role of young organisers in climate justice movements.
Day 2 will focus on synthesising community testimonies into “People’s Urgent Demands”, followed by drafting the Climate Justice Declaration 2025, which will be presented to the press. The outcomes are intended to guide national, regional and global advocacy in the run-up to COP31.
