Daily Times

Pakistan-China cooperation in green development and ecological protection is getting more and more significant when it comes to addressing climate change issues, noted Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Moin Ul Haque.

“Pakistan has recently been affected by severe floods; and China is also facing drought now. Both countries are impacted by climate change. So these innovations and new approaches to tackle climate change are very important for the two countries,” Moin ul Haque said in an interview with China Economic Net during the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS).

For the first time an environmental services sector was included in the CIFTIS to display new technologies and applications in ecological protection and energy conservation.

Pakistan is one of those countries that are vastly affected by the consequences of climate change despite being the least contributors to the shift in weather behaviour. “And this is true for all developing countries. So it is in our own interest that we work together with all the countries, especially China, in this respect,” Haque told CEN.

“We’re more than happy to share China’s experience in this field,” pinpointed Zhang Tianli from National Early Warning Centre, China. “For example, when it comes to floods, with WMO Global Multi-Hazard Alert System-Asia (GMAS-A) we are able to issue early warnings and have affectees who need shelter and support prepared.”

Zhang noted Pakistan has been wrecked and devastated by the recent floods, and had many losses of precious lives and infrastructure. “In the future, the Belt and Road countries, and countries prone to disasters will be included in cooperation.”

Terming China a world leader in terms of pursuing environmental protection and leading the fight against climate change, the ambassador said that “We are very happy to have partnership with China in this perspective. We’ve just launched a green corridor focusing not only on agricultural cooperation, food security, but also on environment and ecology.”

As per Ghulam Qadir, Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of Pakistan in China, China has comparative advantage in green development and there is a lot more potential that can be tapped for both countries. “It’s an area we look forward to strengthening.”