At a Centre for Governance Studies dialogue in Dhaka, experts and delegates said climate-vulnerable countries should receive grant-based finance for loss and damage, not loans. Bangladesh's special assistant for environment, forest and climate change noted that the country produces only 0.5 percent of global carbon emissions while losing 2 to 3 percent of GDP each year to climate-related disasters. That gap is the core argument for treating climate finance as compensation, not debt. Panelists also pushed for stronger regional cooperation in the Bay of Bengal, including shared disaster management, joint governance of undersea cables and AI, and better support for climate migrants. They pointed to the contrast between Switzerland's early-warning systems and Nepal's slow access to loss and damage funds after devastating floods. Bangladesh is expanding coastal mangrove belts and salt-tolerant crops, but speakers stressed that financing and implementation details will decide whether these efforts hold up.
