Youth climate leaders from across Asia have issued an urgent call for fair, fast, grant based and accountable public climate finance after witnessing the devastating realities of the climate crisis in three different locations in Bangladesh and learning from the experts.
The Asia Youth Climate Justice Learning, Planning & Mobilisation Camp, hosted in Dhaka from 11–14 August under Oxfam’s #PlantTheFunds campaign in collaboration with Climate Action Network South Asia brought together 19 young activists from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste to build a united regional voice ahead of COP30. The programme combined intensive learning on the root causes of climate injustice, in-depth sessions on climate finance, and practical training in advocacy and campaign strategies.
Over four days, participants unpacked the root causes of climate injustice, demystified climate finance, developed advocacy and campaign strategies, and visited climate-affected communities in Rajshahi, Cox’s Bazar, and Dhaka’s urban slums. Their experiences culminated in a Collective Asia Youth Statement on Climate Finance, demanding that funds flow directly—as grants, not loans—to frontline communities without bureaucratic delays for adaptation and building resilience.
“We are not asking for charity. We are demanding justice,” the youth delegation declared. “From saltwater-swallowed fields in Cox’s Bazar to cracked, drought-hit lands in Rajshahi, people are living in survival mode. Climate finance must arrive in time to save lives and protect livelihoods.” A woman in Cox’s Bazar put it more simply: “The sea has taken our fields, and the storms have taken our homes. If help comes too late, it is no help at all.”
For many of the youth, the camp was a turning point. “Seeing the impacts firsthand made me realise our fight is not just for the future—it’s for survival today,” said Kamruzzana Jahad a delegate from Bangladesh. Upeka Thilini from Sri Lanka stressed that “climate finance must be accessible in local languages, with communities leading the planning. We can’t let decisions be made far away from those who live with the consequences.”
Oxfam in Bangladesh’s Country Director Ashish Damle stressed the moral imperative: “Asia is home to five of the ten most climate-vulnerable countries yet receives only a fraction of the adaptation finance it needs. This injustice must end—finance must reach the frontlines.”
Mustafa Talpur, Head of Advocacy and Campaign for Oxfam in Asia, emphasised strategy: “We need regional solidarity, where youth are not only campaigners but negotiators shaping the climate finance agenda at COP30 and beyond.”
On the final day, youth delegates unveiled their Asia-wide climate finance campaign plans, built from field insights and regional collaboration. They also joined the expert panel “Asia on the Climate Frontlines: Impact, Finance, and Global Negotiations,” where speakers stressed Asia’s disproportionate climate risks and chronic underfunding for adaptation. The session echoed the youth’s call for accessible, grant-based finance and for young voices to be central in shaping COP30 outcomes.
Nayoka Martinez-Bäckström, First Secretary & Deputy Head of Development Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said: “Bangladesh has been a consistent voice for adaptation and loss & damage. Youth can amplify this at the global level, making negotiations more accountable to those most affected.”
As the camp concluded, the youth issued a Collective Asia Youth Statement on Climate Finance, urging governments and donors to ensure climate finance flows directly to frontline communities as timely grants, to cut bureaucracy and improve transparency through community-led monitoring, and to recognise and integrate local and indigenous knowledge into climate solutions. They also called for centring women, children, and marginalised groups in finance decisions, and providing microgrants for youth-led innovation in vulnerable areas.
With COP30 on the horizon, Asia’s youth are determined to carry these stories, demands, and solutions to the global stage. Their message is unambiguous: “Plant the funds. Protect our future. Climate justice is not an aspiration—it is a responsibility. And the time to act is now.”
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