A student of the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED), Hafij Khan, is making a massive difference in the world.
Khan has been elected as a member of the Executive Committee of Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) for loss and damage by 48 Least Developing Countries (LDCs).
The Conference of the Parties (COP) established the Warsaw International Mechanism under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2013 to assist developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.
“The election offers a rather terrific way to directly apply the outcomes of my doctoral research for impact,” said Khan. “I will serve a two-year term acting as an executive member of the global mechanism to deal with loss and damage, and also as co-coordinator of LDCs for loss and damage negotiating team at UNFCCC.”
Khan believes that in this capacity, his research work which explores the innovative global governance approaches to address loss and damage resulting from climate change will greatly be useful.
A qualified environmental lawyer affiliated with the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Khan has been working on legal and policy issues related to environment, natural resource management, and climate change for the past 18 years at local, national, and international levels.
His papers and presentations in both the pre-COP 26 online conference on climate law and public policy for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the global Climate Law and Governance Day symposium during COP 26 has enhanced the public discourse on climate loss and damage. He will continue his academic efforts that will be helpful for taking evidence-based policy approaches at UNFCCC on loss and damage governance regime.
Khan hopes to utilize his experience for the benefit of his constituency in advancing the negotiations on global governance for loss and damage and the establishment of transparency and accountability frameworks for financing loss and damage activities in vulnerable developing countries.
He will be leading the discussions with LDCs priorities at the 15th meeting of the Executive Committee of the WIM for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts which will be held from April 5 to 8, 2022 in Bonn, Germany.