Volunteers for Environment International calls for climate justice

Youth-led environmental organisation Volunteers for Environment International (VFE) on Friday staged a strike along with thousands of young people, calling for increased investment in renewable energy and the assurance of climate justice to secure a sustainable future.

Joining the ongoing Global Climate Strike, thousands of Bangladeshi youth climate activists raised their voices to demand an end to fossil fuel financing, the expansion of renewable energy, and increased investment in sustainable agriculture, according to a statement.

Over 3,000 climate activists from 33 youth organisations across 18 districts gathered on Manik Mia Avenue in Dhaka as part of the strike, organized in collaboration with the youth platform Activista Bangladesh of ActionAid Bangladesh and led by VFE.

From this global climate strike, young activists called on world leaders to stop financing fossil fuels—which are harmful and expensive for the environment—and to ensure a sustainable future. The protest also included a demand for a ceasefire and an end to the ongoing inhumane war in Palestine.

Following the gathering on Manik Mia Avenue, a rally was held starting from Khamarbari, looping through the Aarong intersection, past the Jatiya Sangsad area and returning to the main avenue—where thousands of slogan-chanting climate warriors reassembled and concluded the program.

“If we don’t speak out now against climate change, the very existence of humanity may face the consequence of becoming extinct one day. The time to act is now—if not now, then never," said Shaikh Shahrukh Farhan, executive coordinator at Volunteers for Environment.

Farhan said that developed nations are fuelling the climate crisis through continuous investment in fossil fuels.

"Their capitalist mindset—driven more by profit than people—is destroying the planet through neo-colonial exploitation, wars, and human rights violations. The top greenhouse gas emitters are leading us toward environmental collapse, severely impacting youth, farmers, women, and marginalized communities in the Global South," he said.

“This multiplies the ecological debt owed to the most vulnerable in developing countries,” according to the green activist.

Therefore, the Global Climate Strike calls for divestment from fossil fuels and urgent investment in sustainable projects and renewable energy.

Leaders of the platform, including Mahjabin Tishi, Amimul Ihsan Samin, and Rubel Mia, also spoke on the occasion.