Gates Foundation teams up with govt for climate resilience

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have agreed to collaborate on enhancing Pakistan’s climate resilience. 

This agreement was forged during a high-level Climate Adaptation Roundtable on Tuesday hosted by Romina Khurshid Alam, the Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Climate Change, as per a news release.

The roundtable convened at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Headquarters and was co-hosted by Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, Chairperson of NDMA. 

During the event, Romina briefed Bill Gates on the diverse impacts of climate change across sectors in Pakistan, highlighting how the country's socio-economic gains are increasingly vulnerable to climate-related challenges.

She highlighted the frequent and intense occurrences of floods, heat waves, forest fires, and droughts, stressing their significant impacts on sectors such as agriculture, water, energy, health, and education. 

Despite Pakistan's minimal contribution to global carbon emissions, she noted, the country bears severe consequences of global warming and is fully committed to mitigating these effects to safeguard vulnerable communities' lives and livelihoods.

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Romina underscored Pakistan's dedication to supporting global climate action and emphasised the importance of ongoing dialogues between national stakeholders and international partners to foster collaboration on climate change issues. 

She pointed out the active roles played by both the public and private sectors in climate mitigation and adaptation, underscoring the need for enhanced linkages with international counterparts.

Gates commended the policies of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government in bolstering Pakistan's climate resilience and its efforts in mitigation and adaptation despite limited financial resources. 

He assured Romina of the Foundation's commitment to offer technical and non-technical support to launch initiatives focusing on climate change mitigation and adaptation in agriculture, water, energy, food security, health, and education sectors.

During the roundtable discussions, Gates also met with key private sector leaders in health, agriculture, technology, and climate finance. These innovators highlighted various initiatives aimed at strengthening Pakistan's capacity to address the adverse impacts of climate change. 

Discussions also explored potential collaborations to tackle climate challenges faced by sectors like energy, water, food security, health, and education.

Gates stressed the importance of leveraging science-based solutions and the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to address climate-related challenges at scale.

He acknowledged the unique challenges Pakistan faces in dealing with climate risks and reiterated his Foundation's strong commitment to supporting climate adaptation efforts in the country.