Climate change is at the centre of Jahangirnagar's environmental research. The Department of Environmental Sciences lists climate change, environmental modelling and monitoring, renewable energy, water resources management, and climate adaptation and mitigation among its research areas, and teaches courses such as Climate Resilient Development.
At the table
On 22 September 2024 the university recorded Professor Sheikh Tawhidul Islam's nomination to a writing panel associated with the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report. On 2 November 2024 the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic), a DAAD fellow researcher, jointly presented research at a three-day workshop on Earth, Environment, Biodiversity and Agricultural Services in Bangladesh, which emphasised climate change and the SDGs and was organised by DAAD and the Alumni Association of German Universities in Bangladesh. A week later, on 8 November, he took part in a seminar on "Environment, Climate and Politics in a New Bangladesh" organised by the National Citizens' Committee.
Climate justice, locally
On 21 December 2024 the Faculty of Social Sciences organised "Climate Change and Adaptation Pathways: Perspectives from Vulnerable Ethnic Communities". It reflects a thread in JU research: faculty have studied indigenous adaptation practices and the use of local knowledge in responding to climate change, including work on climate responses in Bangladesh's coastal islands, as well as the role of community-based organisations in climate governance.
When floods came
Climate impacts also arrive as emergencies. In September 2024, after the floods, the university community responded: the Officers' Association contributed BDT 616,170 to the Chief Adviser's Relief and Welfare Fund on 17 September, and on 22 September the Employees' Association contributed BDT 628,998 and the Employees' Union BDT 220,721 for flood relief.
Looking ahead
The Institute of Remote Sensing and GIS adds tools for understanding environmental change and informing decisions about vulnerable areas, and the university's wetlands and woodlands offer a living laboratory for adaptation research. A published campus climate action plan is the natural next step for turning that knowledge inward.