Bangladesh turns climate risk into an experience at COP31, and pitches it to investors

Bangladesh's national pavilion at COP31 has become one of the busier stops at the UN climate summit.

It uses immersive technology to put visitors on the country's climate frontline, then makes the case for investing in its response.

Supported by MGH Group and Eastern Bank PLC (EBL), in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the pavilion offers a contrast with COP30 in Belém last year.

There, Bangladesh's pavilion sat idle in the opening days of the conference while it awaited an official inauguration, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Climate risk, felt first-hand

Wearing virtual-reality headsets, visitors step into the work of aid workers responding to floods in Feni. They then travel through Cox's Bazar, where the beauty of the coast is set against the growing threat of pollution.

The experience gives delegates, investors and policymakers a direct sense of vulnerabilities they may know only as statistics.

Displays alongside the VR experiences set out Bangladesh's climate strategies, national action plans and resilience initiatives.

They also point to openings for investment in adaptation, environmental protection and sustainable development. MGH Group and EBL supported the pavilion's design, visitor engagement, souvenirs and VR content.

Young voices in the room

Footsteps Bangladesh, Go UP Foundation and Youth4NDCs helped conceptualise, plan and run the pavilion, and took part in its decision-making and day-to-day visitor engagement.

The involvement gives young people a visible role in the country's climate diplomacy.

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo and State Minister Shaikh Faridul Islam inaugurated the pavilion.

Two pavilions, one message

Bangladesh has also set up two national pavilions at COP31 for the first time. The environment ministry runs the main pavilion in the Blue Zone.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs operates a separate Jute Pavilion in the Green Zone, which showcases the commercial and environmental potential of the country's traditional fibre.

At a session in the Jute Pavilion on Tuesday, officials and industry representatives tied jute to COP31's themes of mitigation, plastic pollution and circularity.

Under its 2026–2031 strategy, Bangladesh aims to double jute export earnings to US$1.64 billion and raise the share of value-added products from about 45 percent to 70 percent, UNB reported.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman toured the main pavilion on Wednesday afternoon, viewing its displays and an exhibition of jute products. He also visited the Jute Pavilion, where he looked at 129 varieties of products, including bags, shoes, accessories and blazers.

He spoke with visiting University of Chicago students about environmentally sustainable products. Officials said international visitors had expressed interest in importing Bangladeshi jute goods.

What is at stake

The showcase comes as Bangladesh presses its case in the negotiating rooms. Environment Minister Mintoo has said the country contributes only about 0.35 percent of global carbon emissions yet remains among the most climate-vulnerable.

Its National Adaptation Plan (2023–2050) puts the cost of 113 interventions at roughly US$230 billion, with substantial international support still outstanding.

The delegation, led by Prime Minister Rahman, is calling for grant-based climate finance rather than loans and a threefold increase in international adaptation funding.

The summit runs to 20 November. For the pavilion's backers, the measure of success will be whether the interest it has generated turns into finance, partnerships and trade.

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Disclosure: Daily Waadaa is part of MGH Group, a sponsor of the pavilion.