Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus reiterated the urgency of the climate challenge, asserting that with youth accounting for half of Bangladesh's population, the country holds significant potential to design creative and sustainable models for green growth.

"Our region is on the frontlines of climate change. Every year, our coastal communities face rising waters and shifting weather patterns that impact lives, homes, and livelihoods," the chief adviser said while inaugurating the Bay of Bengal Conversation organised by the Centre for Governance Studies.

The three-day event is being held at a hotel in the capital.

"This crisis is not something that can be put off for another day; it's something that requires our immediate and united action," Yunus underscored.

Highlighting the country's potential, Yunus said, "Bangladesh is a region of immense potential. It is the country of youth. Out of 171 million people, half the population is under the age of 27 years. What a great force. This makes the country very powerful in creativity. Our youth have the power to lead the world in sustainable development, to create models of green growth protecting and promoting our environment. But this requires cooperation, courage, and an unshakable belief in our shared future."

He called for the creation of a "new civilisation," saying, "This civilisation has failed us." From an environmental perspective alone, it has proven self-destructive, and from an economical perspective, it has led to extreme wealth concentration.

"We need to create a world of three zeros -- zero net carbon emission, zero wealth concentration -- by introducing social business to solve people's problems, rather than maximising profit -- and zero unemployment by turning young people into entrepreneurs rather than job-seekers, which we do now," he added.

Yunus expressed delight for being among the national and international delegates at the conversation in Dhaka, a city that recently witnessed a historic student-led revolution that toppled a 16-year-long fascist regime.

He urged international delegates to seize the opportunity to walk Dhaka's streets and observe the colorful paintings on walls, created by young people during a pause in violence.

"Anybody watching them cannot but be amazed by the power of the expressions young people came up with, right at the killing fields. There was no designer, there was no central planning, and nobody was funding it," Yunus said.

Former Bolivian President Jorge Fernando Quiroga Ramirez and former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad joined the programme virtually and delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.