From 30 March to 1 April, Friendship brought the voices of climate-vulnerable communities in Bangladesh to a global stage on the discourse surrounding planetary boundaries
By Friendship News Desk,
6 April 2026
The ChangeNOW 2026 summit took place at the iconic Grand Palais in Paris, where it convened a diverse coalition of more than 40,000 changemakers, innovators, visionary leaders, policymakers, investors, and civil society actors to advance key solutions to the planet’s biggest challenges. As seven out of nine planetary boundaries have been crossed, it is more important than ever to build bridges and transform challenges into meaningful action.
Friendship founder Runa Khan was a speaker at the event alongside HRH Princess Esmeralda de Belgique, Chair, Friendship Belgium, while several members of Friendship International entities were in attendance, to bring the perspectives of frontline communities forward and advocate for integrated development solutions that empower them. The Friendship team showcased the organisation’s tried and tested adaptation solutions from the perspective of frontline communities.
Friendship France delegates include William Lebedel, Chair; Alain Cojean, Board Member; Ariane Marzin, Board Member; Fundraising and Communications Manager Clara Lamarche; and Anna Robyn, Education Programme Manager.
Also attending were Esmeralda Chupin from Friendship Luxembourg; Climate Action and Communications spokesperson Stephane Van Haute; and Strategy Manager Jean-Salman Mikhail Marre, Marine de Bazelaire, Laure Vincotte and Benoit Meribel, board members of Friendship France.
The Adaptation Imperative: A World Beyond 1.5°C
Immediately after the Opening Ceremony of ChangeNOW, Runa Khan opened The Adaptation Imperative session with her keynote speech at the Grand Palais Legacy Stage, stating, Humanity is entering an era of too many uncertainties and planetary limits crossed. Adaptation is not just an afterthought now. It is urgently needed if we want to see resilient generations and the future. The session focused on navigating this new reality through immediate, transformative action. Within the session, she also took part in the panel discussion that followed, where the speakers delved deeper into the solutions they have developed over the years.
“Climate change is more than an environmental crisis. It is a human, social, and economic one, deeply tied to dignity,” Runa Khan added.
She challenged prevailing perceptions of frontline communities as passive victims, highlighting instead their strength, knowledge, and capacity to adapt. “People living closest to the climate crisis, perhaps because they have no other choice, find ways for themselves and their ecosystem to somehow survive. They don’t build resilience. Nobody can build resilience. But they have the courage to face and survive. The question is whether the world is willing to back them with solutions,” she shared.
Runa Khan also spoke at the fireside chat component of the session titled ‘One Health: Time to Heal the Planet and Ourselves, Together’ at the Balcony Stage of the Grand Palais on 31 March, where she highlighted Friendship’s integrated approach to ecosystem restoration, water security, healthcare, animal health, and community resilience as essential to protecting both people and the planet.
She later attended other networking events, including a women-only conference titled ‘Women for Change’, followed by an exclusive dinner with more than 100 business and institutional leaders and several off-stage sessions.
