Youth pledge to save Karachi against future climate risks

The youth has pledged to work on urban climate and environmental issues to save the metropolitan city against future climate risk.

The pledge was made at a three-day workshop on environmental sustainability and waste management through young engagement organised by the Sindh Community Foundation in collaboration with Department of Energy and Environment Engineering that concluded at Dawood University of Engineering & Technology on Saturday.

The training covered a range of topics, including environmental management, climate change, urban flooding, urban environmental sustainability, laws and policy and practices of environmental programs, impacts of waste management on human and mental health, youth engagement and behavioral change communication.

While speaking at the workshop, Dr. Faizullah Abbasi, Vice Chancellor Dawood University of Engineering and Technology, said that climate change is a real threat to human society as well development that can be tackled through innovative, technological and low cost solutions. He also stressed on developing academia-practitioner links to deal such environmental issues.

Javed Soz of the Sindh Community Foundation said that Pakistan is experiencing the worst climate issues amid growing environmental degradation so there is need to take these issues seriously in the policy-level discourse by all sectors, including citizens, government, CSOs, corporate sector and society as a whole.

Environmental journalist Afia Salam said that Pakistan with the fastest growing urbanization in South Asia and Karachi is also facing a range of issues, including rapid urbanization, poor waste management, low air quality and poor biodiversity.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2023.