Shama emphasises funding, coordination for women’s climate leadership

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam has stressed the need for coordinated initiatives and adequate financing to ensure women’s effective participation and leadership in climate action.

She underscored the importance of gender-responsive climate planning, institutional coordination, and women’s access to climate finance while addressing an event at the Bangladesh Pavilion at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, on Thursday, said an official handout here today (13 November).

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and UN Women Bangladesh jointly organised the event titled “Policy to Practice—Strengthening Gender-Responsive Climate Governance and Finance: Bangladesh Strategy for Advancing Belém GAP.”

Shama said a climate affairs wing had been established at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate international climate engagement more effectively.

The wing would work with the environment ministry and civil society organisations, she said, emphasising the collection of gender-disaggregated data, stronger knowledge management, and effective access to climate finance for women.

Presenting the keynote paper, Environment Ministry Joint Secretary Rubina Ferdousi outlined Bangladesh’s initiatives and progress in strengthening gender-responsive climate adaptation.

She said Bangladesh adopted the Climate Change and Gender Action Plan (CCGAP) in 2024 and was strengthening institutional arrangements for its implementation.

Measures include establishing gender and climate change focal points in key ministries and departments, defining officials’ responsibilities, providing training, and developing institutional action plans.

The environment ministry has also prepared a prioritised project plan for gender-responsive adaptation in line with the CCGAP, she said.

Initiatives are underway to develop sectoral adaptation plans in other key ministries, improve the framework for monitoring CCGAP implementation, and strengthen the capacity of the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust.

Speakers stressed that policy commitments under the National Adaptation Plan and CCGAP must now be translated into sectoral programmes, institutional action, and measurable results.

They called for gender equality to be incorporated from the earliest stages of planning, alongside effective coordination among the ministries concerned.

Highlighting financing needs, participants urged greater investment and cooperation from development partners, international financial institutions, and the private sector alongside public funding.

They also emphasised gender-responsive budgeting, institutional capacity development, and effective financing mechanisms for adaptation projects.

Environment ministry Additional Secretary Navid Shafiullah said adaptation initiatives must give due attention to women’s needs and priorities as they face disproportionate impacts from climate change.

UN Women Bangladesh Programme Specialist and Head of Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Action Dilruba Haider moderated the panel discussion.

Participants included Dharitri Kumar Sarker, UN Women headquarters policy adviser Venge Nyirongo, French development agency AFD senior adviser Alexis Bonnel and Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) senior officer Nika Castillo.

The discussion highlighted Bangladesh’s experience and progress relevant to implementing the Belém Gender Action Plan.

Participants called for a practical post-COP31 roadmap to accelerate gender-responsive climate action through coordinated efforts by the government, UN agencies, development partners, international financial institutions and civil society.

They expressed hope that Bangladesh’s experience could offer useful lessons for other countries implementing the Belém Gender Action Plan.