Staff Reporter:
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo yesterday said children and younger generations must be given priority in climate action plans.
He said children and young people are the architects of a climate-resilient Bangladesh, both yesterday and in the future.
“Children and younger generations must therefore be given priority in climate action plans,” the environment minister said when UNICEF Bangladesh Acting Representative Gillian Mellsop met him at his Secretariat of-fice here.
During the meeting, they discussed protecting children and adolescents from the impacts of climate change and making essential social services, including education, health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene, cli-mate-resilient.
Mintoo said his ministry was working to implement different plans in accordance with the special directives of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Mellsop thanked the minister following the Cabinet’s approval of the National Strategy and Multi-Year Action Plan for a Lead-Free Bangladesh (2026-2035).
She assured the minister of UNICEF’s full cooperation in implementing the action plan.
The environment minister said his ministry would further strengthen its initiatives to protect children from lead pollution and other forms of pollution.
Bangladesh has continued to play a leading role internationally in addressing climate-related risks. Although children bear no responsibility for causing the climate crisis, they are among its greatest victims.
According to a recent UNICEF report, about 58.8 million children in Bangladesh are exposed to at least one climate-related hazard. Nearly nine out of every 10 children face three or more hazards simultaneously.
Based on government-approved data, the Ministry and UNICEF will jointly develop a district-level Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) and Climate Landscape Analysis for Children (CLAC).
These tools will help identify the most vulnerable districts and enable targeted investment planning in climate adaptation and other climate-related sectors, a ministry press release said.
UNICEF is supporting the inclusion of children and adolescents in plans to implement Bangladesh’s National-ly Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) to reduce carbon emissions.
This support is being provided across the education, health and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene sectors in coordination with the Department of Environment and relevant ministries.
UNICEF will also continue supporting assessments of the potential for rooftop solar power installations at government schools and health facilities.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will continue providing comprehensive support to UNICEF and the relevant ministries in developing models for environment-friendly and disaster-resilient schools.
The meeting also discussed incorporating climate and environmental education into the national curriculum, organising the Youth Climate Negotiators Fellowship and Youth Climate Summit, and increasing the participa-tion of student and adolescent networks in the national tree-plantation programme.
Dr. Md. Saidur Rahman, Additional Secretary of the Ministry’s Environment Pollution Control and Law Wing, along with relevant officials from UNICEF Bangladesh and the ministry, attended the meeting.
