PM Imran ‘puzzled at cacophony’ over Pakistan not being invited to global climate summit

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that he felt perplexed at the cacophony being raised by his political opponents over Pakistan not being invited to attend the ‘Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate’ which has been convened by US President Joe Biden on April 22-23.

On his twitter handle, the prime minister posted a series of tweets to express his views on the matter and highlighted his government’s initiatives over the climate change and environmental protection which were solely driven for the future generations of the country.

“I am puzzled at the cacophony over Pak (Pakistan) not being invited to a climate change conf (conference)! My govt’s environment policies are driven solely by our commitment to our future generations of a clean & green Pakistan to mitigate the impact of climate change,” he wrote.

The prime minister referred to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s major initiatives aimed at environment protection, including the Green Pakistan, 10 Billion Tree Tsunami, nature-based solutions and cleaning up rivers etc.

“Hence our initiatives of Green Pak, 10 bn-tree tsunami, nature based solutions, cleaning up our rivers etc. We have gained vast experience in 7 yrs (years), beg (beginning) with KP, & our policies are being recognised & lauded,” he tweeted.

The prime minister said that he had already laid out priorities for the UN Climate Change Conference 2021 – COP26 – if the international community was serious about countering impact of climate change. “We are ready to help any state wanting to learn from our experience,” he tweeted.

Read more: PM Imran urges financial commitments to address climate change

Last week, Biden invited 40 heads of state and government, including leaders of India, Bangladesh and Bhutan – from the South Asian region but ignored Pakistan, to his administration’s first summit on climate change to be held on April 22 and 23.

According to a White House announcement, the virtual summit would be addressed by leaders of Russia, China, Argentina, Australia, France, Indonesia, Germany, Israel, Canada, Japan, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Denmark, Colombia, Congo, Chile, Jamaica and other countries.

On April 1, it was reported that US climate change czar John Kerry will hold talks with Indian leaders during an Asian tour in an effort to narrow differences on climate change goals to slow global warming.

However, Kerry is not scheduled to visit Pakistan, according to the state department.

Pakistani activists, as well as international experts on the South Asian affairs expressed surprised at the US decision to exclude Pakistan from the summit despite the fact that the country was among the most vulnerable nations because of climate change.

Besides, the Pakistan government has been spearheading a robust climate drive with mega initiatives which were lauded by the UN and other global bodies advising other most vulnerable climate-hit countries to emulate these projects.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)