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Uzzal Jisan from Antalya, Türkiye: South Asian climate journalists have called for the effective implementation of commitments made at the COP31 climate summit and urged greater media attention to the climate crisis facing the region.
The call came at the annual general meeting of the South Asian Climate Change Journalists Forum (SACCJF), held at a conference room at the ongoing COP31 summit in Antalya, Türkiye, on Tuesday evening, November 10.
The meeting was chaired by the forum’s President, Ashish Gupta, and conducted by its Secretary General, Keramat Ullah Biplob.
Renowned climate and social justice activist Harjeet Singh attended the meeting as the chief guest and expressed solidarity with the activities of the South Asian journalists’ organisation.
Journalist leaders from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan highlighted various aspects of the climate crisis and the struggles faced by their respective countries.
During the meeting, Ashish Gupta proposed holding a special conference of the South Asian Climate Change Journalists Forum in New Delhi, India, in January 2027. The proposal was unanimously approved.
He said the proposed conference would also provide an opportunity to take initiatives for visits to different South Asian countries and organise accountability-focused programmes to strengthen the forum’s activities across the region.
The meeting also heard proposals and observations from Pakistan’s Imran Chowdhury and Syeda Faiza Gilani, Sri Lanka’s Kurulu Kujana Kariyakarawana, Nepal’s Sriram Subedi, and Bangladesh’s Shamsuddin Ilias, Imrul Kayes and Saleh Noman.
Among others present were Masum Billah, president of the Bangladesh chapter of the South Asian Climate Change Journalists Forum; Somnath De, a representative from the coastal region; and Nazmul Hasan, a representative from the haor region, along with climate activists and journalist representatives from different countries.
In the discussion, participants stressed that the participation of country representatives in global climate conferences must be matched by concrete action to fulfil their commitments.
They said journalists have an important responsibility to monitor whether pledges made at climate summits are being translated into effective measures and whether the benefits of those measures are reaching people living in climate-vulnerable communities.
They also called for stronger regional cooperation among climate journalists to ensure that the challenges, demands and experiences of vulnerable communities across South Asia receive sustained