Bangladesh unveils $1.85b roadmap for green transition

Bangladesh has announced a $1.85 billion investment roadmap to support a fair transition to a greener economy, becoming the first Asian country to include a dedicated Just Transition chapter in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0).

The plan, unveiled at a high-level dialogue in Dhaka, converts national climate commitments into investment opportunities across energy, transport, construction, agriculture, waste management and industrial processes, according to local media reports.

The strategy reviewed 14 major national policy documents and consolidated 258 commitments into 33 priorities, supported by 69 time-bound actions. The final framework is expected to be included in NDC 3.0 before being presented to development partners and investors at COP31 in November.

State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shaikh Faridul Islam said the transition must improve pollution control, workplace safety and workers' welfare. He also highlighted plans to generate 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy within five years.

Centre for Policy Dialogue fellow Dr Fahmida Khatun said job creation should remain central to the green transition. She called for detailed mapping of jobs likely to be created or lost and proposed adding a green-jobs module to the Labour Force Survey.

ILO officials and representatives of employers and workers also stressed reskilling, social protection and stronger social dialogue to ensure climate action produces decent employment and greater economic resilience.