Climate-vulnerable countries must not be pushed into a new debt trap in the name of climate adaptation, speakers said at a human chain program in Mongla on Friday.
They said developed countries and corporations continue to profit from fossil fuel-dependent economies, while farmers, workers and climate-vulnerable nations bear the brunt of cyclones, droughts, river erosion and crop losses.
The speakers called for a just transition to green energy, environmental protection, climate justice and public ownership of resources.
The human chain program was held at Mithekhali Bazar in Mongla, coinciding with the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand, scheduled for October 12-18. The event focused on the question of whose interests the global economy serves.
Dharitri Rakkhay Amra, Pashur River Waterkeeper, Udayan Youth Sangha, and Waterkeepers Bangladesh jointly organised the program.
Nur Alam Sheikh, a central leader of DHORA and Pashur River Waterkeeper, presided over the event. Speakers included Prof Nazrul Islam, labour leader Nazmul Haque, DHORA leader Molla Al Mamun, farmer leader Asaduzzaman Tito, SM Jane Alam Babu of Udayan Youth Sangha, youth leaders Sheikh Sifatullah Shuvo and Arafat Durjoy, and Mehedi Hasan of Waterkeepers Bangladesh.
Nazmul Haque said developing countries were struggling to repay foreign loans and interest while meeting essential spending needs in education, healthcare, agriculture and social protection. High interest rates, rising energy prices and climate-related disasters were further aggravating the crisis, he said.
“If people’s fundamental rights are curtailed to repay loans, who is development for?” he asked, stressing that public needs must take precedence over lenders’ conditions.
In his address, Nur Alam Sheikh said communities affected by climate change should receive fair compensation, not loans, for the losses and damage they suffer. “We must build a world for people, not for profit,” he said, calling for adequate climate financing and investment in renewable energy.
He also urged the government to ensure that food was treated as a fundamental human right rather than a source of corporate profit, promote environmentally friendly agriculture and ensure a just transition to green energy.
“Financing renewable energy is financing climate action,” he said, calling for an immediate shift to renewable energy.