Climate change is one of the most significant environmental challenges facing the world. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from human activities, particularly fossil fuel consumption and deforestation, have increased the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere, leading to irreversible damage to natural resources and ecosystems.
Climate change is expected to devastate the world’s poor, as they are both geographically and economically vulnerable, making it more difficult for them to adapt. Despite contributing the least to the problem, developing countries are most likely to bear the brunt of the impact of climate change.
Despite accounting for only 0.9 percent of global Greenhouse gas GHG) admissions, Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable nations to the impact of climate. The country faces unpredictable weather patterns, resulting in flash floods, glacial lake outbursts, intense heat waves, and erratic rainfall. As a result, its ecosystems and landscapes are deteriorating. Forest fires are
increasing, plant and animal species are migrating, and water bodies and wells are depleting due to intensified human activities. In addition, rising sea levels and more intense storms could lead to coastal flooding and erosion, causing the loss of crucial coastal habitats such as mangroves, which serve as important nurseries for many fish species. The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has suggested that climate change will likely worsen the frequency and intensity of such extreme events.
Climate change is expected to devastate the world’s poor, as they are both geographically and economically vulnerable, making it more difficult for them to adapt.
The federal government has recently developed a comprehensive strategy called the 4RF ie Resilient, Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework to ensure a resilient recovery from natural disasters. It is aimed to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and natural hazards on Pakistan’s economy, particularly the agriculture sector and population.
The World Leaders’ Climate Action Summit of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) somedays back was held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had flown to Baku after attending the OIC-Arab League Joint Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Addressing different high level forums of COP 29, the PM forcefully put forward Pakistan’s climate change problems and. pointedly called for redefining global climate to support the vulnerable nations, emphasized developing nations dire need for $ 6.8 trillion assistances by 2030 for effectively countering climate challenges, urged the international community to take the developing countries out of their debt trap, calling it as the “death trap for the poor countries.
PM Shebaz Sharif further stated at another COP-29 forum that the developed nations should honour their financial pledges for dealing with the climate change, emphatically pointed out that the climate financing must be grant-based, not adding to the debt burden of the developing countries, praised strong Pak-Azerbaijan ties, expressing optimism about further enhancing this cooperation to the mutually bilateral benefits.
At the COP29 deliberations, Pakistan called for a balanced and ambitious progress on all issues such as loss and damage adaptation, mitigation and means of implementation, sought predictable financing to enable the developing countries address the climate goals and also underscored the historical responsibility and the principle of Equity and Commonly Differentiated Responsibility and the developed nations were asked to ensure deeper emission cuts.
On the sidelines of the COP-29 de liberations, the PM held meetings with a number of world leaders, exchanged views on bilateral relations and exchanged views on how the prevailing friendly relations could be further enhanced, promoted and strengthened with emphasis on final cooperation and boosting trade and business opportunities for mutual benefits.
The writer is Lahore-based Freelance Journalist, Columnist and retired Deputy Controller (News), Radio Pakistan, Islamabad and can be reached at [email protected]