‘World needs to do more on climate crisis’

PM’s aide on climate change addresses US-led Leaders Summit

While the global warming-hit world is fast heating up, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam called upon the global community to ‘do more’ on the global climate action to protect the planet from unfolding deleterious impacts of climate change, according to a press statement issued here on Thursday.

The world, he stressed, needs to step off the warpath with nature, which would only exacerbate disasters. “The world has to do more, and fast-track efforts to confront climate change,” Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aide stressed while addressing the virtual US-led Leaders Summit on Climate hosted by the United States (US) government in Washington.

The US administration last week invited Aslam to speak at the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate being hosted by US President Joe Biden. The president had invited 41 world leaders, including those from Pakistan, India, China and Bangladesh, to the summit.

The Leaders Summit on Climate aims to underscore the urgency and the economic benefits of stronger climate action. It will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November in Glasgow, the statement read.

Addressing the summit, Aslam said that the earth’s temperature continues to rise with 2020 being one of the three warmest years on record as extreme weather events, combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, impacted millions in many ways. “It is a high time the world shows seriousness by delivering real climate action on the ground,” he stressed.

The PM’s aide highlighted that Pakistan is striving to be a part of the solution through nature-based initiatives and is committed to not add to the problem of climate change. “Given the backdrop, the PM Imran Khan is leading Pakistan away from a coal future towards a clean energy future but we need access to best available technologies and associated finance,” he stated.

However, the world needs to ‘do more’ by showing real climate action and delivering climate finance, he demanded.

Read more: Accountants have a role in climate action

Aslam suggested three types of climate finances to be delivered that include committed finance of USD100 billion per year, adaptation finance for impacted countries like Pakistan and transition finance for helping countries shift to clean energy. Without a clear delivery on climate finance there will be no deal at Glasgow COP, he cautioned, adding that Pakistan believes in a cooperative, collaborative and inclusive climate negotiations process.

Highlighting the country’s vulnerability, he told the participants that Pakistan accounts for less than one per cent of the total global carbon emissions yet it is ranked amongst the most climate-vulnerable countries and continuously smacked by climate change-caused disasters.

Elaborating on the adverse impact on Pakistan, the PM’s aide said the glaciers in the country’s northern region are melting fast and arid regions are heating up so intensely that many of the areas are fast becoming uninhabitable. On the other hand, the coastal areas in the country’s south are badly affected due to a rising sea level and frequent and intense cyclonic activities, he added.

Aslam maintained that in recent years, the country has faced frequenting and intensifying bouts of heatwaves, particularly in urban areas, resulting in ever-growing mortality and hospitalisation of thousands of people.

He informed the summit that Pakistan’s population of bare 220 million is at risk of myriad effects of the climate crisis, a gruesome situation that places the country at the forefront of the climate crises. “Yet, we are a strong and resilient country trying our best to face the worsening challenge of climate change and at the same time equipping ourselves for this purpose,” he highlighted.

Aslam said that PM has ramped up efforts to boost the country’s resilience through nature-based solutions to offset the adverse impacts. As a part of nature-based salutations, the government has already launched a ‘10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme’ (TBTTP) in the country’s northwest province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he shared.

While the programme helped restore 350,000 hectares of forests and degraded land in the province to surpass its Bonn Challenge commitment, the TBTTP aims to restore one million hectares of degraded forest land under the Prime Minister’s vision for ‘Clean Green Pakistan’, he remarked.

“Pakistan is also the only country in the world with an expanding mangroves forest cover,” the PM’s aide highlighted. He further stated that another ambitious Protected Areas Initiative (PAI) was launched last year under the over-arching programme ‘Green Pakistan’ aimed at the conservation and promotion of nature-based solutions.

Under the initiative, the number of national parks, which are home to wildlife of global importance, has been increased from 30 to 45, bringing an estimated 7,500 square kilometres of land under protection and creating 5,000 green jobs for community members in the protected areas, Aslam added.

He also highlighted that Pakistan’s water sector is highly vulnerable as riverine floods and glacial lake outbursts are becoming more common. “However, to improve the climate resilience of the country’s water sector, a ‘Recharge Pakistan’ programme has been launched to mitigate sectoral impacts of climate change on water and enhance water security to recharge the underground aquifers and restore wetland ecosystems,” the PM’s aide informed.

Aslam mentioned that Pakistan is among the countries facing severe economic impacts as a result of the ongoing pandemic, which has rendered thousands of people unemployed. He said that the PM has launched a post-Covid-19 'green economic recovery plan dubbed as Green Stimulus Initiative for the creation of green employment opportunities.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2021.