Climate Action webinar series

Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) in Bangladesh: Presidency priorities for COP26

Date: 16/11/2021

Duration: 14:00-15:00 (GMT); 20:00-21:00 (BDT)

Location: Online

Exploring the work of the Climate Vulnerable Forum in Bangladesh and post-COP26 reflections.

The CVF was founded in 2009 and is currently composed of 48 member states, representing some 1.2 billion people from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Pacific and the Caribbean. It is representative of the nations most vulnerable to climate impacts. The Government of Bangladesh assumed the Presidency of CVF and the V20 Group of Finance Ministers in June 2020, taking over the Presidency from the Marshal Islands.

In this webinar, Commonwealth Alumnus Sirazoom Munira will discuss how the Bangladesh Government’s Presidency of the CVF has continued to act as a champion for the urgent strengthening of climate action by all. The discussion will highlight the Presidency’s efforts to keep the global temperature goal within 1.5 degree centigrade to attain the Paris Agreement, CVF and V20 priorities and to call for raised climate ambition and finance in line with the CVF Manifesto encompassing what UN Conference of Parties (COP26) was urged to deliver at Glasgow.

Sirazoom will be attending the COP26 conference in Glasgow and will share her first-hand experience and expertise in climate change policy in the context of Bangladesh.

The webinar will last for approximately one hour, including a Q&A session.

The CSC’s Climate Action webinar series will provide a platform for Commonwealth Scholars and Alumni working and conducting research in areas related to climate change to present on their work and impact in this field to the CSC community.

You can watch previous webinars, delivered as part of the monthly Knowledge Hub webinar series, on the CSC’s YouTube channel.

Sirazoom Munira currently works as the Program Officer supporting the Bangladesh Government Presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) based at the South-Asia Regional Office of Global Center on Adaptation (GCA). As part of the Secretariat, her role includes providing technical support for CVF program and policy priorities including safeguarding 1.5 degree Paris Agreement goals aligned with CVF-V20 priorities in coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and Permanent Missions of the Bangladesh Government. 

Over the past years, her area of work has focused on building resilience for climate vulnerable communities by exploring enhanced access to global climate finance and research on climate change and health, labor, gender, migration, and human rights. Her contributions have been recognised by Regional Development Dialogue under the UN Center for Regional Development and the Royal Commonwealth Society. Prior to joining the CVF, Sirazoom has worked at the UNDP Bangladesh in its renowned climate change program supporting key climate projects. She also mentors youth, both in Bangladesh and beyond, to enhance and sensitise their environment and climate awareness. She teaches at North South University in the Department of Environmental Science and Management as an Adjunct Lecturer.

Sirazoom Munira is a 2015 Commonwealth Shared Scholar from Bangladesh. She completed her MSc in Risk and Environmental Hazards at the University of Durham.