Mideast climate moot

Unfortunately while several countries talk a big game on climate change, practical action is less than forthcoming

Prime Minister Imran Khan reiterated a call for world powers to take a more serious approach to climate change, noting the disproportionate impact the climate crisis is having on poor countries such as Pakistan. Speaking at the Middle East Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh, Imran said Pakistan had been hit by 152 extreme weather events in the past decade alone, costing the country over $3.8 billion; and on top of this, the climate adaption costs could run as high as $14 billion for Pakistan alone. The PM also noted that support has been lacking, leaving the government to fend for itself by cancelling coal power projects and committing not to initiate any new ones. Pakistan has also set ambitious targets for shifting to clean energy and electric cars by 2030.

The PM also spoke of the various tree plantation campaigns started by provincial and federal governments led by his party, noting that apart from planting billions of trees, the initiatives had also generated over 85,000 jobs — a number that he said would climb to 200,000 by next year. Imran referred to the World Bank’s positive reviews of Pakistan’s use of ‘green’ bonds to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Later, the PM also had a sideline meeting with US climate envoy and former secretary of state John Kerry in which several forms of cooperation with Washington on environmental issues were discussed.

Unfortunately, while the US and several other countries talk a big game on climate change, practical action is less than forthcoming. The US and several developed western nations pride themselves on their climate change-related pledges, but most of them are willfully on course to miss their targets. And while China continues to do impressive work at home, it is also accused of investing in polluting industries overseas. India, meanwhile, is actually increasing the use of fossil fuels and unsustainable land use. Recent news reports suggest that several fossil fuel exporters, such as Australia and Saudi Arabia, and importers, such as Japan, have opposed the recommendations in the UN’s scientific report ahead of the Conference of Parties (COP26) climate change summit in Glasgow later this week. All of the countries named in the recent reports were also among the world’s top carbon emitters.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2021.

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