Coastal youth activists highlighted the disproportionate climate impacts facing vulnerable communities and urged greater local leadership, adaptation and equitable access to climate finance.
A climate strike was held in Shyamnagar in Bangladesh’s southwestern Satkhira district on Thursday, as part of a week-long programme marking World Climate Week 2026, with participants calling for climate justice, climate finance, adaptation, a just transition and stronger locally led climate action.
The strike was held at 11:00 am on the banks of the Kapatakkha River in Padmapukur union of Shyamnagar upazila, with support from BARCIK. More than 50 climate activists, young people, adolescents and representatives of various youth organisations from coastal areas took part.
The event was chaired by Habibullah Al Mamun, adviser to the Shyamnagar Upazila Volunteer Association and president of the Southern Charity Youth Foundation. S.M. Jannatul Naim, director of the Shurub Youth Team and general secretary of the Shyamnagar Upazila Volunteer Association, moderated the programme.
Representatives of Green Coalition, Sundarbans Youth Solidarity Team, Coastal Environment Research and Improvement Organisation (CERIO), Southern Charity Foundation, Shurub Youth Team, Social Action for Youth Alliance, Youth Plant Bangladesh, Bonojibi Youth Team and the Shyamnagar Upazila Volunteer Association, among other organisations, joined the strike in solidarity.
Speakers included youth volunteers Md Tarikul Islam, Md Shamim Hossain, Sumaiya Aziz, Mariam Akter, Md Hafizul Islam Bulbul, Md Sabuj Billah and Gazi Obaidullah Al Mamun, as well as S.M. Osman Gani, campaign and network facilitator at BARCIK.
Speakers said coastal communities were constantly facing salinity, river erosion, cyclones, storm surges, waterlogging and livelihood crises as a result of climate change.
Yet, they said, communities that had contributed the least to climate change were bearing a large share of its impacts. They called for the rights of affected communities to be ensured, climate finance to be increased, local knowledge and leadership to be given greater importance and practical adaptation measures to be strengthened to address the climate crisis.
They also said climate action should not remain confined to policymaking at international and national levels and called for the active participation of local communities, young people and adolescents.
They urged the adoption of long-term and equitable climate action centred on local leadership to protect the lives and livelihoods of coastal communities as well as the environment and ecosystems.
Participants at the climate strike raised slogans demanding climate justice, fair climate finance, the rights of coastal communities and stronger locally led climate action.
