Shehbaz named vice-chair of COP27

PM invited to attend UN conference to be held in Egypt in November

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would be the vice-chairperson for the 27th session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), after his advocacy for an urgent climate action plan, it was announced on Monday.

Egyptian President and COP27 Chairperson Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi invited the Pakistani prime minister to co-chair the COP-27 roundtable conference along with the prime minister of Norway. The conference will be held in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6-8.

The meeting – organised by the UN regarding climate change and the need for sustainable solutions – will be attended by world leaders, think-tanks, heads of governments and international financial institutions.

Pakistan received the honour from among the 193 countries of the UN as a result of the active voice raised by Prime Minister Shehbaz at the global and the regional forums about the climate crisis and the necessity of action.

After the devastating floods lashed Pakistan and left millions displaced, Shehbaz called for immediate international action on climate change at local and global platforms, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Read PM Shehbaz proposes debt swap for climate action

The prime minister’s proposal for global cooperation in addressing the challenges of climate change was endorsed by several countries. Last week, Shehbaz warned that other countries could be facing climate-induced catastrophes after the Pakistan floods.

“What happened in Pakistan will not stay in Pakistan,” he said in a tweet, reiterating his call for urgent action a day after the United Nations issued a revised flash appeal of $816 million as relief assistance for the flood-stricken people of Pakistan.

Shehbaz highlighted that more than 1,600 Pakistanis, including 400 children, had lost their lives due to massive floods and thousands of kilometres of road infrastructure and bridges had been washed away. “Entire villages have been swallowed up by raging waters. Nature has been truly unforgiving,” he added.

A video compilation shared by the government’s official Twitter handle gave an overview of different occasions wherein Shehbaz made impassioned calls at a global level, stressing an urgent response by the world for the disaster-hit Pakistan.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)