Pre-COP31 Conference Urges Policy Thrust on Renewables and Green Enterprise

DHAKA: Spotlighting the urgent transition toward renewable energy arrays and fostering green startup ecosystems among youth ahead of the upcoming COP31 global climate summit, the ‘Pre-COP31 Conference on Renewable Energy and Green Entrepreneurship’ was convened at Nagar Bhaban in the capital on Saturday, 26 September 2026.

The national symposium was jointly organized by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), Mission Green Bangladesh, Environment and River Protection Development Foundation (ERPDF Bangladesh), Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), and Dream Research and Development Foundation (DRDF).

Addressing the gathering as chief guest, Freedom Fighter Md. Abdus Salam, Administrator of DSCC, noted, "Dhaka South City Corporation places apex priority on eco-friendly urban infrastructure and decentralized clean energy solutions to mitigate severe climate impacts. To build a climate-resilient future, we remain committed to providing full regulatory and municipal policy support to help youth entrepreneurs transform green innovations into viable realities."

Dr. Md. Ziaul Haque, former Additional Director General of the Department of Environment, underscored that Bangladesh must rigorously consolidate its diplomatic advocacy on global stages to access equitable climate loss and adaptation funds. He highlighted that institutionalizing regulatory protections for local low-carbon technologies and green enterprises is vital to domestic economic endurance.

Highlighting urban air quality data, CAPS Founder and Director Professor Dr. Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder stated, "Empirical data analytics and standardized scientific tracking remain imperative to curtailing carbon emissions and metropolitan particulate pollution. Decoupling urban transit and power grids from fossil fuels toward clean energy will rapidly recuperate our environmental baseline."

Raufa Khanam, Deputy Director of C3ER at BRAC University, stressed that channeling domestic fiscal endowments and international COP multilateral adaptation grants directly to grassroots innovators is necessary to realize a truly inclusive 'just energy transition'.

Presiding over the conference, ERPDF Bangladesh Chairman H. M. Sumon asserted that young professionals must move beyond passive consultative roles to become active frontline executors of renewable transition projects.

Moderated by Md. Shariful Islam, the plenary featured contributions from Mir Mohammad Ali, Mahmud Rakib, Maksud Hossain, Rubaiya Nasrin Sejuti, Mahbub Suman, and Al-Amin Pranto. The symposium drew more than 200 youth delegates, environmental scholars, researchers, and civil society advocates from across the country.

//DBTech/MAB/MSI/MIST//