. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
Speakers at a conference on Thursday said that there was a need for the youth to lead the fight against climate change.
Speaking at a conference on “Youth for Action on Climate Change”, they said that climate change was the biggest challenge facing mankind today. The moot was organised by Indus Consortium in collaboration with Oxfam Novib at Pakistan National Council of the Arts.
“Climate change is the biggest challenge for our generation. Pakistan is among the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change,” said Dutch Ambassador Marcel de Vink. He said half of the Netherlands was below the sea level. “We have huge challenges and there is a greater need to work together to address climate change issues.”
The Netherlands is supporting 57 countries including Pakistan to address climate change issues.
“The link between climate change and food security is critical. Though Pakistan is not a major contributor to global warming, it is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change.”
He said poverty, growing population and rapid urbanisation were some of the major problems facing Pakistan and this was the right time for action to address these issues.
He said Holland was leading negotiation on climate change issues at world level and its contribution towards addressing climate change causes and find their solutions was significant.
Climate Change and Environment Director General Sajjad Hussain Bhutta said Pakistan was likely to face floods every year due to unexpected up and down fluctuation of temperatures and glacier melts. “We will continue to face the similar situation if we do not take actions now, and it will take 70 to 80 years to reverse back to near normalcy,” Bhutta said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2015.
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