The Second Meeting of the BIMSTEC Joint Working Group on Environment and Climate Change was held in Paro, Bhutan, on 12 October 2023, with the participation of delegations from all seven BIMSTEC Member States. The Meeting finalised the BIMSTEC Plan of Action on Environment and Climate Change for submission to the BIMSTEC Senior Officials’ Meeting consisting of the Foreign Secretaries of the BIMSTEC Member States, for approval. The Meeting also entrusted the BIMSTEC Secretariat with the task of developing an Action Matrix detailing activities for implementation based on objectives and priorities in the Plan of Action.

The Meeting of the Joint Working Group was preceded by a BIMSTEC-IFPRI Capacity Development Program on Environment and Climate Change and Conference on Environment and Climate Change co-hosted by the Department of Environment and Climate Change of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of the Royal Government Bhutan, and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) from 09-11 October 2023.

The Conference was inaugurated by H.E. Lyonpo Tandi Dorji, Minister of Foreign Affairs & External Trade of the Royal Government of Bhutan. The Secretary General of BIMSTEC, H.E. Mr. Tenzin Lekphell, Director, IFPRI-South Asia Dr. Shahidul Rashid, senior officials from international organizations and the BIMSTEC Member States, as well as officials of the BIMSTEC Secretariat participated in the conference.

While the conference deliberated on climate vulnerability, climate markets and actions, adaptation, mitigation, green climate fund and food security; the capacity development programme focused on enhancing understanding on environment and climate change and its impacts, food security in the region, carbon trading, and the global environmental regime.

The conference and the capacity development programme brought together more than seventy participants and regional academic specialists, as well as experts and officials from BIMSTEC Member States and international institutions dealing with environmental and climate change issues.

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