Special Adviser to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said that climate change impacts were continuously creating global chaos and climate action has become imperative to avert various kinds of disasters including frequent floods, droughts, wildfires, and heatwaves in different parts of the world.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a webinar titled “Ahead of COP 26: what IPCC report has for South Asia”, organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
“The voice of Pakistan is being heard at important international forums dealing with climate change as Pakistan is amongst very few countries that are having climate action on the ground,” Aslam said adding that there should be a compensation mechanism in place coupled with allocation of funds, especially for the countries such as Pakistan that were facing huge losses to GDP because of climate change impacts.
He highlighted Pakistan was modelling climate action and playing an active role in combating climate change despite its insignificant contribution to global carbon emission.
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“The government of Pakistan is rigorously pursuing green solutions, including enhancing the size of forests and mangroves to achieve 30 per cent energy target through by 2030.
Climate Action Network in South Asia (CANSA) director Sanjay Vashist explained that “we have been seeing extreme weather phenomenon for the last several years. We must hold ourselves, especially the rich people of the world, accountable for allowing this crisis to happen and make serious efforts, including getting rid of fossil fuel and making an investment in renewable energy.”
He said within South Asia, “we need to allocate our resources as developed countries are now facing the impacts that have been averted earlier.”
Sanjay said: “Let us not wait for the developed countries to respond to our needs. We have to take action now to avert the impacts of extreme climate events. The eruption of wildfire is one of these significant impacts. Therefore, besides pitching for the resources, we must explore alternate solutions based on local actions.”
Director Resilient Development Program SDPI Dr Shafqat Munir elaborated that “we are heading towards a tipping point and a humanitarian crisis is looming, which calls for dealing the situation with a sense of urgency”.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 25th, 2021.
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