Dhaka’s efforts will be to include concerns, demands in COP29 declaration: Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Monday asked the Bangladesh officials and NGO and civil society leaders to put in extra efforts to highlight the country's climate crisis concerns at the COP29 that is underway.

He made the call in Baku just after he arrived in the Azerbaijan capital to lead Bangladesh in the annual UN-led climate change summit.

"Our main efforts will be to include our concerns and demands in the final declaration of the COP29," he told the Bangladesh delegation during a coordination meeting at a hotel in Baku.

Prof Yunus will join the main summit of COP29 on Tuesday and speak in at least three major events.

At the meeting, environment secretary Farhina Ahmed briefed officials about Bangladesh's stand on some of the key issues of the conference.

She said Bangladesh has set up nine teams to negotiate in all major areas, including climate finance, loss and mitigation, and just transition and adaptation mechanisms in the summit.

At least 29 NGOs and civil society groups from Bangladesh are joining the COP29, Farhina said.

She said despite assurance from the rich countries in the Global North, Bangladesh has so far received 344 million US dollars of grants and 250 million US dollars of loans as climate finance.

Earlier, the Chief Adviser arrived in Baku to attend the UN's biggest climate conference, COP29, which is seen as a "pivotal opportunity" to accelerate action to tackle the climate crisis.

Bangladesh Ambassador to Turkey Amanul Haq was, among others, present at the airport to receive the Chief Adviser upon his arrival at 5:15pm (local time).

A flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, carrying the Chief Adviser and his entourage, left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 11am (local time).

Prof Yunus is leading a small delegation and will return home on November 14, a senior official at his office told UNB.

Global leaders and diplomats from across the world are joining the annual climate summit to discuss how to avoid increasing threats from climate change in a place that was one of the birthplaces of the oil industry.

The 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) is taking place from November 11 to 22.