Imagine: Neighbours in Peace!
Bridging Borders – A Southasian Vision for COP30
Date: Sunday, 26 October 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. EST / 2:00 p.m. GMT / 4:00 p.m. SA / 7:00 p.m. PKT / 7:30 p.m. IST / 7:45 p.m. NPT / 8:00 p.m. BDT
Venue: Online (Registration required)
About the Event
As the world prepares for the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (Conference of the Parties) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), COP30 in Belém, Brazil, 10–21 November, we at the Southasia Peace Action Network, or Sapan, warmly invite you to join our timely virtual gathering: Imagine: Neighbours in Peace! Bridging Borders: A Southasian Vision for COP30.
Today, the global community faces an urgent crossroads: Translating the Paris Agreement commitments into equitable, inclusive, and action-oriented implementation.
For Southasia, this transition holds particular significance. The region is home to over 1.8 billion people and shares rivers, monsoons, and fragile ecosystems and geographical landscapes that are increasingly threatened by climate change.
The climate crisis doesn’t stop at national borders, and neither should the solutions. From rising sea levels in Bangladesh to glacial lake outbursts in the Himalayas, from extreme heatwaves and droughts to unprecedented rainfall levels, yearly landslides, and floods, these are all deeply linked to climate change.
Despite shared vulnerabilities, collective regional advocacy remains limited. The upcoming COP30 offers an opportunity for Southasian voices from youth, civil society, and grassroots movements to call for justice, cooperation, and peace-driven climate action.
Sapan has been consistently advocating for cooperation and collaboration on climate. Our shared action is vital for our shared survival — and is also a bridge for peace.
The Sapan 26 October event will spotlight how regional solidarity can transform conflict into collaboration, as we bring Southasian environment activists together and seek to position Southasian experiences and solutions within the global COP30 agenda. Peace, cooperation, and justice are foundations of effective climate action.
Our meeting aims to:
- Amplify a Collective Southasian Voice at COP30, develop a Southasian Statement for COP30 focusing on implementation, equity, and nature-based transitions, and advocate for a unified stance on loss and damage, adaptation finance, and just transition from a South Asian perspective.
- Promote Climate Cooperation as a Pathway to Peace and highlight how joint climate action can serve as a platform for rebuilding trust and strengthening cross-border collaboration.
- Connect Local Realities to Global Decision-Making and bridge grassroots experiences and indigenous wisdom from Southasia with global policy discussions leading into COP30.
Speakers
Host
- Bidhi Adhikari, student, Kathmandu
Discussion Moderator:
- Afia Salam, journalist, Karachi
Panelists:
- Sher Abbas, student, Islamabad
- Manshi Asher, environmental activist, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh
- Bareesh Chowdhury, environmental lawyer, Dhaka
- Manita Murmu, youth Climate Justice Activist, Kathmandu
- Asantha Kalyananda, environmental activist, Colombo
(Speaker bios at this link)
Who Should Attend
This session is open to all, especially:
- Climate and peace advocates across Southasia
- Educators, students, and researchers working on sustainability
- Journalists, artists, and community leaders exploring cross-border cooperation
- Anyone who envisions a peaceful and sustainable Southasia
Click here to register for this cross-border conversation on peace and climate action.
For more information, contact: southasiapeaceactionnetwork@gmail.com
This event continues Sapan’s sustained advocacy linking climate cooperation and peace, building on our previous dialogues at:
Also watch the webinar, ‘COP 29: Southasia’s Climate Challenges. A Call for Southasian Solidarity’