The meeting was held at the Minister's office. During the meeting, productive discussions took place on protecting children and adolescents from the impacts of climate change and building essential social services—including education, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene—into climate-resilient systems.
The Minister said that children and young people are the architects of today's and tomorrow's climate-resilient Bangladesh. Therefore, children and young people must be prioritised in climate action plans. He informed that the ministry is working according to the Prime Minister's special directives to implement relevant plans.
UNICEF Bangladesh's Acting Representative Jillian Melsop thanked the Minister for the Cabinet's approval of the 'National Strategy and Multi-Year Action Plan for a Lead-Free Bangladesh (2026–2035).' She assured UNICEF's full cooperation in implementing the action plan. The Minister said that efforts would be further strengthened in the ministry to protect children from lead pollution as well as other forms of pollution.
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The Bangladesh government continues to play a leading role internationally in addressing climate change risks. Although children bear no responsibility for creating climate risks, they are the most affected. According to a recent UNICEF report, approximately 5.88 million children in the country are exposed to at least one climate risk, and nearly 9 out of 10 children are simultaneously exposed to three or more hazards.
Based on government-approved data, the ministry and UNICEF will jointly work on developing a district-level Child Climate Risk Index (CCRI) and a Climate Landscape Analysis for Children (CLAC). This will help identify vulnerable districts and enable targeted investment planning across various climate-related sectors, including adaptation.
UNICEF is supporting the involvement of children and adolescents in implementing Bangladesh's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0) to reduce carbon emissions. This cooperation is being carried out through coordination with the Department of Environment and relevant ministries in the education, health and nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene sectors. UNICEF will also continue its support in exploring the feasibility of rooftop solar power installation in government schools and health centres. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will continue to extend full cooperation to UNICEF and relevant ministries in the initiative to develop models of environmentally friendly and disaster-resilient schools.
The meeting also discussed incorporating climate and environmental education into the curriculum, organising Youth Climate Negotiators Fellowship and Youth Climate Summit, and increasing the participation of students and adolescents in the national tree planting programme. The commitment to further strengthen partnerships with development partners to ensure a safe and liveable Bangladesh for future generations was reaffirmed.
Additional Secretary of the Ministry's Environment Pollution Control and Law Sub-division Dr. Md. Saidur Rahman, along with officials from UNICEF Bangladesh and the ministry, were present on the occasion.