Climate activist Raisul Islam says Bangladesh needs a just transition to renewable energy, warning climate justice cannot be achieved without protecting vulnerable communities, workers and livelihoods from worsening climate impacts.
Climate activist Raisul Islam has called for a rapid shift to renewable energy backed by a “just transition,” saying climate justice cannot be achieved without protecting vulnerable communities and workers during the move away from fossil fuels.
In a press release, Islam said climate change was no longer a matter of scientific debate but a growing threat to human existence. He said rising global temperatures, cyclones, wildfires, floods and sea-level rise showed the world was facing a deepening climate crisis.
He said developing and climate-vulnerable countries such as Bangladesh were bearing the brunt of the crisis despite contributing little to global carbon emissions.
“Thousands of people in Bangladesh are displaced every year due to river erosion, salinity intrusion, cyclones and flash floods,” Islam said, adding that the impacts of climate change were becoming increasingly visible in agriculture, health, education and livelihoods.
“This is not only an environmental crisis. It is also a profound global injustice,” he said.
Islam warned that the world remained heavily dependent on fossil fuels and said coal, oil and gas-based development models were pushing the planet toward destruction.
He called for increased investment in renewable energy including solar and wind power as well as sustainable energy systems, saying such measures would not only reduce carbon emissions but also help build a safer, healthier and economically sustainable future.
However, he stressed that the transition to renewable energy must be based on the principle of a “just transition” to ensure that workers, marginalized communities and people dependent on small-scale economies were not harmed in the process.
“Climate policy is not only about protecting the environment. It is deeply connected to social justice, economic equality and human rights,” he said.
The statement said young people around the world were increasingly leading climate movements and raising their voices against environmental destruction in the name of development.
In Chattogram and other regions, young activists were making it clear that environmental damage could no longer be justified by economic growth, it added.
Islam also urged world leaders, corporations and policymakers to take bold and effective action, saying commitments alone were no longer enough.
He called for ensuring climate finance, reducing subsidies for fossil fuels and making renewable energy a national priority.
“Saving the planet is not a political slogan. It is a fight for our survival,” he said.
Raisul Islam is a climate activist based in Chattogram.
