For many countries, energy policy has long been defined by a single question: how to secure enough fuel to keep the lights on. But for climate-vulnerable and low-income nations, this approach often creates a deeper dependence on imported fossil fuels, volatile global markets, and external political pressures. The concept of energy sovereignty under Natural Rights Led Governance (NRLG) challenges this model. It reframes energy not simply as a commodity to be secured, but as a

Bangladesh’s economic future is increasingly tied to the stability of its energy system. Yet heavy reliance on imported fuels exposes the country to global price shocks, foreign-exchange pressure, and rising electricity costs for industries and households. As energy demand rapidly grows over the coming decades, the challenge is no longer simply expanding power supply it is building a system that is resilient, affordable, and compatible with national climate commitments. This

Bangladesh’s industrial future is being shaped by a global shift toward low-carbon production. For the country’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which power more than 90% of industrial units and employ the vast majority of the industrial workforce this transition is no longer a distant climate agenda. It is increasingly tied to export competitiveness, energy security, and access to global markets. Yet most SMEs operate with outdated machinery, high electricity costs, and

If human desires could be fulfilled without restraint, the Earth and its inhabitants would have long since perished, this is a scientific reality. According to science, not all human desires are realizable because the Earth has a finite carrying capacity. The structure of human civilization clearly demonstrates that climate, biodiversity, land use, everything, has a safe operating limit. The concept of planetary boundaries identifies nine critical thresholds, including climat

In the emerging era of artificial intelligence, humanity is at a critical juncture. Machines are no longer merely instruments of automation; they are fast becoming intelligent machines that surpass human capabilities in reasoning, prediction, and even artistic endeavors. However, in the midst of this accelerating technology, there is a critical question that is being asked too seldom: Can there be intelligence without wisdom, and what are the implications of such a phenomenon

South Asia sits at the frontline of the climate crisis, yet the voices shaping climate finance decisions are often distant from the communities facing the greatest risks. The South Asia Stakeholder Consultation on the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) brings together civil society, researchers, financial experts, and practitioners from across eight countries to reflect on how global climate finance mechanisms are working on the ground and where they are falling short. The dialog

The military strikes on Iran by the U.S. and Israel have immediately upended global energy markets. Given the timing, occurring over the weekend, the full market reaction will manifest when Asian trading opens on Sunday, March 1, 2026. As a result, Iran has already shut down Strait of Hormuz movements. 1. Impact on Oil and Gas Prices: The primary driver of price volatility is the Strait of Hormuz , which handles approximately 20% of global petroleum and LNG. Crude Oil (Brent)

Climate finance is becoming one of the most decisive forces shaping South Asia’s development trajectory. Yet the region home to some of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries often faces structural barriers in accessing and implementing global climate funds effectively. The South Asia Stakeholder Consultation on the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) brought together civil society leaders, researchers, financial experts, and development practitioners from across the region

Bangladesh’s rapid infrastructure expansion has been powered by borrowing but the way projects are governed is now emerging as a critical risk to the country’s fiscal future. In recent years, external debt has grown sharply while repayment pressures are rising, particularly in the power and infrastructure sectors. As global financial conditions tighten and major loan repayments approach, questions are intensifying about whether public borrowing is consistently translating int

Over the past three decades, Mymensingh’s landscape has been quietly but profoundly reshaped. Fields have expanded, settlements have surged, and once-abundant waterbodies and green spaces have steadily disappeared. This position paper traces those changes from 1990 to 2024, revealing how everyday decisions about farming, housing, and land conversion are collectively altering the district’s ecological foundations. What emerges is not a distant environmental concern, but a stor

This position paper assesses whether the draft EPSMP 2025 advances energy sovereignty by reducing long‑term exposure to external shocks, enables a just energy transition that ensures equity, community stewardship, and intergenerational justice, and aligns with Natural Rights‑Led Governance by grounding energy decision‑making in nature’s sovereignty, rights of nature, integrity, and accountable, peaceful governance. Read Our Position Paper This paper outlines our institutional

Microcredit is one of Bangladesh’s most widely recognized development innovations. It expanded access to finance for millions of people, particularly women, who were excluded from the formal banking system. For decades, it played a meaningful role in poverty reduction. But Bangladesh today is not the Bangladesh of the 1980s or 1990s. The economy now faces a very different set of risks: persistent inflation, income volatility, repeated climate shocks, and mounting pressure on

COP30 in Belém is not just another annual climate meeting; it is the 32-year report card of the world governance architecture that was conceived at the Rio Earth Summit of 1992. And that is what report card says: delivery has been sporadic, cosmetic and perilously disconnected with the physics of climatic breakdown. The Amazon, which was once regarded in Rio as an ecological miracle of the world, is now on the verge of an irreversible precipice. Even the communities that stru

ভূমিকা: বাংলাদেশ সরকারের ২০৩০ সালের মধ্যে মোট বিদ্যুতের ২০ শতাংশ নবায়নযোগ্য উৎস থেকে উৎপাদনের লক্ষ্যমাত্রা অর্জনে ‘জাতীয় রুফটপ সোলার কর্মসূচি’ একটি যুগান্তকারী পদক্ষেপ। এই কর্মসূচির ‘উদ্যোগ ক’ বা সরকারি দপ্তর ক্যাটাগরির আওতায় বিদ্যুৎ বিভাগের সুপারিশে মন্ত্রিপরিষদ বিভাগের অধীন ৭০টি বিভাগীয় কমিশনার ও জেলা প্রশাসকের কার্যালয়ে রুফটপ সোলার স্থাপনের একটি বিশেষ পরিকল্পনা গ্রহণ করা হয়েছে। ২২ কোটি টাকা বাজেটের এই প্রকল্পটি মূলত সরকারি প্রতিষ্ঠানগুলোতে সৌরবিদ্যুতের ব্যবহার বাড়িয়ে প

Author: M. Zakir Hossain Khan Originally published in: Chang e Initiative This article is republished for archival and informational purposes. All rights remain with the original publisher.

COP30 is typically viewed as a roadmap for climate finance and action, but this position paper highlights it as a big step toward rights-centered climate governance. Drawing on the Natural Rights-Led Governance (NRLG) framework, we show how COP30's emphasis on human rights, Indigenous rights, land rights, traditional knowledge, and viewing ecosystems as more than just carbon sinks that lines up with NRLG's core ideas like rights for nature, accountability, justice, protecting

At the heart of these debates is M Zakir Hossain Khan , a prominent climate-finance expert whose newly published Climate Debt Risk Index reveals how climate-vulnerable nations are being pushed deeper into debt through loan-heavy climate funding. His organisation will host a press conference on the findings on Climate Debt Risk on 15 November, followed by a high-level dialogue on Natural Rights-Led Governance (NRLG) on 17 November. Khan is an Independent Observer of the Climat

Change Initiative, in collaboration with ActionAid Bangladesh. This open dialogue confronts the "Nordic Paradox," where global climate leaders inadvertently finance fossil fuel lock-ins in Bangladesh. We analyze the severe economic and social costs of LNG dependence, exemplified by the stranded Rupsha Power Plant and FSRUs in Moheshkhali. These projects have triggered massive forex drains and devastated local economies, displacing thousands of families dependent on salt and f

This report investigates how the rapid rise in Dhaka’s vehicle population is shaping the city’s worsening air quality, using a decade of monthly data and advanced time-series models to untangle both short- and long-term effects. Drawing on datasets from BRTA, DoE, and BMD, it shows that motor vehicles and cargo transport are major long-run drivers of pollution, while winter weather patterns sharply intensify particulate concentration. The analysis reveals that rainfall and mo

Natural Rights Led Governance (NRLG) is a call to restore balance between people and the planet. It is rooted in the belief that nature possesses inherent rights just as humans do to exist, thrive, and regenerate. NRLG challenges the conventional model of governance that treats nature as property and resources as commodities. Instead, it envisions a governance system founded on respect, reciprocity, and responsibility where every policy, investment, and institution aligns wit

The Climate Debt Risk Index 2025 (CDRI’25) unveils the uncomfortable truth that nations least responsible for climate change now shoulder its greatest financial burdens, forced to borrow for survival in a world that owes them reparations. Bridging data and justice, CDRI’25 exposes how loan-heavy climate finance deepens inequality across 55 vulnerable economies and redefines climate debt as a moral and legal obligation under the emerging paradigm of * Natural Rights-Led Gover

The Climate Debt Risk Index 2025 (CDRI’25) unveils the uncomfortable truth that nations least responsible for climate change now shoulder its greatest financial burdens, forced to borrow for survival in a world that owes them reparations. Bridging data and justice, CDRI’25 exposes how loan-heavy climate finance deepens inequality across 55 vulnerable economies and redefines climate debt as a moral and legal obligation under the emerging paradigm of *Natural Rights-Led Governa

At COP30, Change Initiative hosted the Global Stakeholder Consultation on the Climate Debt Risk Index 2025 (CDRI’25) bringing together LDC leaders, government representatives, Indigenous voices, youth advocates, and climate finance experts from across the world. The consultation highlighted a shared and urgent message: Climate impacts are intensifying debt crises in countries that contributed the least to global emissions. CDRI’25 evidence and ground-level testimonies reaffi

The article “Confronting the Climate Governance Paradox through Natural Rights Led Governance (NRLG)” exposes the failures of global climate finance and the rise of “climate colonialism.” It calls for a shift to NRLG, a framework that recognizes nature’s inherent rights and promotes justice, equity, and regeneration over debt-driven development. Relevant Documents Download Article