PM Shehbaz says Pakistan’s climate story embodies “cruel paradox” in that its emissions are less than 1pc and yet it is one of the most climate-affected countries.
Experts unanimously demanded collective action and coordinated efforts to tackle and mitigate the impact of the escalating environmental crisis on the conclusion of DawnMedia’s ‘Breathe Pakistan’ two-day global climate conference on Friday.
The moot aimed to make Pakistan climate-resilient by 2047 while fostering regional cooperation across South Asia, where countries face shared challenges of rising temperatures, water scarcity and increasing natural disasters.
It brought together experts and leaders to participate in marathon sessions, panels and speeches to find solutions to climate change, with the participants demanding urgent funding to power adaptation initiatives to respond to threats posed by changing environmental and climatic conditions.
A press release issued later in the day said: “The conference concluded with a unified call for collective action, recognising that the climate crisis requires a coordinated effort across governments, businesses and civil society. With Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change becoming increasingly evident, it is clear that immediate, large-scale action is necessary to safeguard the future of the country and its people.”
It said the moot underscored the critical need for joint efforts from both government and private sectors to develop climate resilience strategies.
5:16pm — Climate action is a legislative priority, says Yousaf Raza Gillani
Senate Chairman and Acting President Yousuf Raza Gillani said it was an honour to conclude the “momentous” conference that had not only “amplified the urgency of climate action but also reaffirmed our collective resolve to combat one of the greatest challenges in our times”.
He said the past two days had underscored that “climate change is not just an environmental concern but a fundamental issue of economic security, social justice, and national sovereignty.”
Gillani said Pakistan stood at the “frontlines of the climate crisis” and had endured floods, droughts, glacial melting, and high temperatures that threatened not just livelihoods but entire ecosystems.
He pointed out that Pakistan remained among the top 10 most vulnerable countries to climate change despite low emissions, adding that this “disproportionate impact” called for urgent global responsibility and equity in climate finance and technology transfer.
“We remain committed to ensuring that climate action is a legislative priority. We have already taken significant steps for climate change and green energy transition, promoting renewable energy solutions … to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels,” he said, adding that water resource management was another pressing issue to address Pakistan’s water scarcity.
“We pledge to work closely with stakeholders … to drive policy coherence, transparency and accountability in these climate initiatives. Pakistan can’t fight this battle alone, the principles of climate justice demand that developed nations uphold their commitments under the Paris Agreement.”
Gillani called on the global community to translate pledges into concrete actions, thus ensuring that vulnerable nations received the support needed to build a climate-resilient future.
5:04pm — Florence Rolle talks about outcomes of the moot
Rolle began reading off the outcomes of the conference, saying the first was about “recognition”.
Elaborating, she said climate change was not about something in isolation but affected all sectors of life, economy and environment therefore it needed to be addressed in a multisectoral and multidimensional way.
“We call for the government to commit to push for action,” she said. “The second part is on climate finance which has been a big hot topic discussed during these two days. So, the conference realised that the gap between Pakistan’s climate financing needs and the funding available is enormous.
“We believe there is a dire need for Pakistan to advance climate finance agenda, to mobilise international resources and have the capacity to attract these climate finance opportunities.”
5:00pm — Closing ceremony begins
The audience stood up to sing the national anthem.
Following that, the closing session began with Aban Marker Kabraji, Regional Adviser Climate and Environment, UNEP, speaking about the level of discussions and the quality of exchanges witnessed during the conference.
“They were truly impressive, particularly the South Asian focus of the moot on the entire region.”
“We have seen a real cross-sector of society here … enormous information in terms of the specifics of what is needed for addressing the problems of climate change,” she said.
Kabraji said the experts had considered bringing resolutions but they needed discussion and agreement for which there was no time and, instead, the outcomes of the conference would be presented that were reviewed and approved by the participants.
4:52pm — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif talks about climate challenges via recorded video
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded Dawn Media Group for the two-day moot that addressed “one of the most pressing challenges of our times”.
He said Pakistan’s climate story embodied a “cruel paradox” in that its emissions were less than one per cent and yet it was one of the most climate-affected countries with floods, glacial meltdown, heatwaves and droughts.
Recounting the 2022 floods, PM Shehbaz said that “one-third of Pakistan was completely submerged” and displaced 33 million people while killing 1,700 and thus transforming climate change from a “distant threat to an urgent call to action”.
He said the government had inherited robust frameworks but they alone “were not enough” and the government had prioritised governance reforms, policy execution, and capacity-building initiatives after recognising implementation gaps.
Pointing to the Uraan Pakistan initiative, he said the government was integrating climate resilience into energy, equity, development and connectivity.
“Developing countries like Pakistan need more predictable, flexible and grant-based financial support to build resilient infrastructure and invest in sustainable development.
“Without such support, the path to climate adaption and green transformation will remain elusive therefore let us make Breathe Pakistan our resounding call to action to ensure a cleaner, greener and more resilient Pakistan for generations to come.”
4:40pm — Short Interval. Sessions to resume soon
4:33pm — Panellists wrap up session
Panellists talked about taping the youth in the agro-processing and food technology sectors, devising the right policies to support small-scale farmers, and calling them “central” to efforts against climate change. They also talked about how the private sector was leading where the government was lacking, among other problems and solutions.
Ending the panel, Saeed said that there was a “moment of hope” because some very old systems being used in agriculture were now making the way for new technology which also opened up opportunities for the private sector to come in.
4:23pm — Small farmers most impacted by climate change, says Fernanda Thomaz Da Rocha
Talking about the importance of agriculture to Pakistan’s economy, Rocha, the country director for Pakistan at the International Fund for Agricultural Developments, said that it had a contribution of 23pc of the GDP, employing 80pc of the workforce in rural areas.
She said farmers were the backbone of the agriculture sector, contributing to national food security and export earnings as well.
“Yet, why is it so challenging when we talk about small-scale farmers? They’re among the groups that are most impacted by climate change.”
Da Rocha added that climate change made agriculture uncertain and threatened the natural elements that farmers depended on for production.
“Small-scale farmers were particularly more vulnerable because they had very little capacity to respond to climate shocks.”
4:13pm — Dr Ayesha Khan praises agricultural sector
Speaking during the panel, Dr Ayesha, Emerging Markets and Climate Finance Specialist at Acumen, said her team had set up the first climate equity fund worth $90 million in Pakistan that would be investing in agribusinesses.
She said the first question asked of her by many was whether such an endeavour was investible, to which she said she had some “optimistic” statistics to share.
She said Pakistan had the third-largest stock of livestock, was the third-largest dairy producer and the fourth or fifth-largest producer of rice.
“The agriculture sector has been growing at three times the growth of the economy over the past few years.”
She said one thing that needed to be pointed out was that systems and markets behaved in rational ways.
“When we talk about Pakistan not getting access to climate finance … the system responds rationally. That capital will flow to a space where it has the highest return. And what is true at the national level is true at the farmers’ level.”
4:05pm — Climate change provides opportunity to rethink practices, says Aisha Humera Chaudhary
Citing research, Aisha Humera Chaudhary, the secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, said, “Climate change would decrease the productivity of the farmers who followed adaptation practices having the chance to increase productivity by 50-55 per cent and more in certain cases.
“Climate change provides Pakistan the opportunity to rethink our practices and make sure farmers are following the adaptation practices.”
She listed various initiatives undertaken by the government regarding the implementation of sustainable adaptation processes, adding that
Pakistan had created 225 wetlands in collaboration with the provinces, covering 9.7pc of the country’s covered area while forested areas were 5pc.
Chaudhary said the designation of protected areas was also very important to protect biodiversity and local flora and fauna, saying that such coverage was 20pc.
3:52pm — Taimur Malik talks about building resilience to climate shocks
Malik, the co-founder of Drawdown Farm, spoke about the biological interventions that can be used to build resilience to climatic shocks.
He said farmers were suffering from climate change since there were many terms and phrases used for the phenomenon of crop yields dropping all over the world due to climate-related events, including Pakistan.
“The Syrian civil war which ousted the Assad regime was also kick-started by a climate-induced drought. However, using techniques of regenerative agriculture techniques we have the potential to realise the vision to make Pakistan an agricultural superpower,” he said.
3:46pm — Kazim Saeed, CEO Pakistan Agriculture Coalition, talks about agricultural dilemma
Speaking about a dilemma that the agricultural sector was facing, Saeed said, “Agriculture has both contributed to climate change and also impacted by climate change by a great deal.”
He went on to say that in Pakistan, farmers had a bad reputation.
“People think they are not educated. Farmers are the most aware of climate change, more than any other Pakistani. Farmers have seen the impact of the change in climate for a lot longer than the rest of Pakistan.”
He added: “Pakistan is still far below the averages of yields that it should have, so there is a possibility of increasing yields through better seed within a few years and generating those surpluses that bring the revenues to pay for things like crop insurance.”
3:33pm — Water is bedrock for immediate action, says Malik Afaq Ahmed Tiwana
Sharing his views, Tiwana, CEO of Farmers Associates Pakistan, said that people understand that agriculture is at the forefront and the centre of climate calamity.
He also spoke about how water was the “bedrock on which we must start to act.
“And just like Trump said, ‘drill, baby, drill’, we should be saying, ‘store, baby, store’.”
3:23pm — Ex-climate change minister Malik Amin Aslam talks about climate action
Speaking about finding solutions to climate change-related issues, he said, “Climate change [solutions] have to be people-centric in order to make an impact.”
“We also have to remember that first, climate change is no longer about climate talk, it is all about climate action.”
Shedding light on the urgency of the situation, he said, “In Pakistan now, climate change has gate-crashed into the room, we don’t have the luxury of time at our hands, we don’t have the luxury of making plans or strategies to deal with this situation, we are already in a crisis situation.”
3:19pm — Resilient agriculture, forestry & food systems in period of climate change session begins
British envoy Mariott warns climate inaction could render half of Pakistan’s agricultural land unusable by 2050
British High Commissioner Jane Marriott has warned that 47 per cent of Pakistan’s agricultural land could become unsuitable for farming by 2050 if immediate action is not taken to address climate change.
Speaking in an interview with Dawn News English on the sidelines of the Breathe Pakistan conference in Islamabad, Marriott cited UK-funded research showing livestock farming would become “nearly impossible” without intervention.
She revealed Pakistan needs $348bn by 2030 for climate adaptation and mitigation, according to World Bank estimates.
The UK is supporting Pakistan through a $140m climate investment fund aimed at de-risking private sector investments in climate-resilient projects, including sustainable aviation fuel development in Punjab that would convert used cooking oil into aviation fuel.
Watch the full interview here
3:10pm to 3:17pm — Panellists wrap session
They took turns to shed light on the role of media in creating awareness about climate change and how reporting mechanisms could be improved.
3:08pm — Mychasuk shares another perspective
Speaking about seeing things from a journalistic perspective, she said, “One of the most important things for me [to notice] was a disconnect between the lived experience of everybody and the science.”
3:01pm — Tauqeer talks about more informed reporting
Stressing the need to recognise that climate change is a development issue, he said. “It’s very closely linked to the vulnerability and poverty of people.
“Readers want to hear more about their lives and their livelihoods. Nobody stops the editors, in any of these countries, from reporting about development issues in other countries. But oftentimes, newsrooms focus on critical news only or disasters, so the question is: How best can an editor be informed about mainstreaming development issues in other countries?”
2:54pm — Nirupama Subramanian stresses cross-border collaboration
“In another time, it may have been possible to think that this [climate change cooperation] would be a government-led thing. But Dawn has taken the lead, and civil society should take the lead in promoting cross-border collaboration on climate,” Subramanian said to applause from the crowd.
“Why doesn’t the media think about cross-border collaborations?”
2:53pm — Mushahid Hussain says climate change a borderless issue
When asked about whether there is room for discussion on climate change given how politics dominates the discourse, Mushahid said: “The room has been created – not by policymakers or politicians – but by the emerging ground realities that we in Pakistan and the region face.”
He said climate change is a “borderless issue”.
“Willy-nilly policymakers and political leadership have to take notice of it. For example, in the last 20 years, we have seen over 150 freak weather incidents in Pakistan alone!”
Flash floods, melting glaciers, forest fires, and regular dislocation of so many people, Hussain added. “So now, it [climate change] has been put on the agenda.”
Mushahid said a decade ago he started the first public hearings on the environment, and the “climate change people were not taking it seriously”. “So I had a friend from Dawn actually, and he produced the first media manual on environmental reporting. Baqqir Sajjad by the way.”
2:48pm — Sarkar emphasises need for local connect through reporting
She said, “One way to get over the fact that most journalists will not have the required training to cover a scientific phenomenon like climate change is to bring it down to the most local level that affects us.”
Citing an example, she said that if there is a flood warning, the reporting should be about what kind of medicines should be given to kids to prevent diarrhoea.
“It’s one of the ways in which we can possibly increase the local connect.”
2:45pm — Mychasuk sheds light on wider impact of covering climate stories
She noted that when covering climate stories, it’s not just about covering a particular company causing environmental damage but assessing the wider impact on society.
2:38pm — ‘He said, she said journalism not serving purpose of climate reporting’, says Kanak Mani Dixit
Kanak Mani Dixit said, “We are standing at the edge of the cliff, actually we’re already falling down the cliff. If we were to do ‘he said, she said’ journalism, it certainly doesn’t serve the purpose of covering the climate crisis. We no longer call it climate change because the semantics always catch up with us. Now we should be talking about climate emergency.”
He added, “Some may say that the day of media is over, it is the age of social media. Then let’s understand how can social media bring change.”
2:35pm — National interest prioritised over climate change, says Nirupama Subramanian
Speaking about the way newsrooms work in her country, Subramanian, the former foreign correspondent in Islamabad for The Hindu, said, “Even coverage of climate issues is guided by national interest.”
2:29pm — Emiliya Mychasuk, Climate Editor FT, talks about knowledge-holding
Emiliya Mychasuk, the Climate Editor for The Financial Times UK, said, “One of the things that has surprised me about climate reporting, climate information and climate information is how much jargon there is, how much knowledge-holding there is.”
She further said, “People in the climate world, particularly at levels like the UN and others, hold the knowledge and mask it with acronyms. […] I don’t see as much explanatory journalism happening in climate.”
2:24pm — ‘Every climate issue is a regional issue’, says Ali Tauqeer Sheikh
Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, freelance journalist and climate activist, highlighted that climate change transcends borders stating, “Every climate issue is, in essence, a regional climate issue. There cannot be national solutions. When it comes to river flows, most of our rivers are transboundary.”
“While disaster reporting continues to be important, the reader is looking at three things: nuanced coverage, solutions-oriented approach, and they want to learn what is happening in similar ecosystems elsewhere,” he added.
2:21pm — Soumashree Sarkar stressed need to mainstream climate reporting
Speaking about climate desks in Indian newsrooms, Sarkar, News Editor, The Wire, Delhi, said, “Despite being a small team, we have a dedicated climate change journalist, and many people in our organisation report on climate. This is, however, not replicated in the mainstream media.
“We usually have independent media doing the work that needs to be done when reporting on climate. One of the main reasons for that is that there has been a watering-down of the environmental laws in India over the last few years.”
2:16pm — Journalists need to be more serious about climate change coverage: Mahfuz Anam
Speaking about the urgency of addressing climate change, Mahfuz Anam, Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star Dhaka, Bangladesh, said, “Journalists and media houses in South Asia are not as serious about the issue of climate change as they should be. I think we journalists are missing a very important point. Climate change is one challenge which we have to rise to and respond to within a certain amount of time.”
2:10pm — Dawn Editor Zaffar Abbas headlines session on Media and Climate Change
Kanak Mani Dixit, Founder and Editor Himal, Nepal, Mushahid Hussain, Former Editor The Muslim, Islamabad, Nirupama Subramanian, Previously Foreign Correspondent in Islamabad for The Hindu, Chennai, Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, Freelance Journalist and Climate Activist, Pakistan, Soumashree Sarkar, News Editor, The Wire, Delhi
1:10pm — Lunch and Prayer Break
The next session will resume shortly.
1:06pm — Daud Munir concludes the session
Daud Munir said that the “consciousness that exists in corporate leaders and work being done is very heartening to see.”
He concluded the session by reflecting on themes of collective action, capacity (financial, legal and regulatory) and high-quality investment pipeline.
12:51pm — Amir Paracha, Chairman & CEO of Unilever Pakistan calls climate-induced events ‘apocalyptic horror’
He said that climate change had become a topic of discussion because everyone was impacted by it.
“What has happened in California … it will not be sparing any of us,” he said, talking about the recent wildfires there.
“There is apocalyptic horror … yet the sense of disengagement and lack of speed to do more feels like a threat. We are centuries away from the future, which is not the reality.”
He added: “In the flight, fight or freeze response against climate change, we can only fight.
“It is no longer just about token representation for climate change; it is much more than that. Every corporate company should come together for it.”
He went on to say that true impact happens when environmental and social goals align with business and commercial goals.
“This means when sustainability pays, business sticks with it, otherwise it moves one.”
12:45pm — Khalid Mehmood Shaikh, CEO SPHF, sheds light on post-flood rehabilitation in Sindh
Speaking about the Sindh government’s post-flood rehabilitation programme, the CEO of the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees said, “Our [public sector] mandate is to reconstruct 2.1m houses, so far we have put 900,000 houses, while 50,000 are being constructed every month.”
He added that the private beneficiaries were doing this while banks were helping the government.
“Our job is to create a vision and bring the policies which are private sector inducive.”
12:35pm — Sobiah Becker, Deutsche Gesellschaft Für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (Giz) GMBH, talks about sustainable solution
Calling for compliance-driven adaptation, she said, “It is very critical that we move away from the idea that sustainability is something that is being forced upon us and instead focus on the fact that sustainable climate resilient industries open up new markets, foster innovation and build resilience for both markets and environmental shifts.”
Referring to Pakistan’s high vulnerability to climate, she added, “We cannot effectively address the physical risk in this country until we have a cohesive and effective transition framework. So, you can have all the policies in the world, but if these policies are not regulated, informed or monitored, then we are not going to get too far.”
12:27pm — Jo Moir, Development Director, British High Commission Islamabad, talks about priorities
“You need to cost up the risk of not adapting to climate change. We should be able to ask: If we don’t invest in better seed varieties that are resistant to drought and if we don’t provide the right sheds for our livestock, this is how much it’s going to cost. Because when you know the cost, you can start prioritising what to do first,” Moir said.
WATCH: Climate activist Zunaira speaks on why the youth needs to work towards climate change
12:15pm — Furthering climate change agenda a priority, says Zeeshan Sheikh, IFC Country Manager
“As part of the World Bank Group, trying to further the climate agenda is a priority for us, and in a country like Pakistan, which is among the most vulnerable when it comes to the risks of climate change, it is arguably one of the most important areas of engagement.”
He pointed out how the circular economy agenda was a major issue for a country like Pakistan, which was producing 50 million tons of waste per year and almost none of it was being recycled.
12:07pm — Aasim Wajid Jawad of Bank Alfalah talks about corporate social responsibility
Talking about the role of the banking sector in tackling environmental challenges and climate change, Jawad, group strategy, transformation and customer experience at Bank Al-Falah, said, “We are an important cog in the wheel, and very conscious about our social responsibility and safeguarding everyone’s deposits.
“So, we have to ensure that the financial system remains sound. In the same way, we have to be caring towards our people and the communities that we live in.”
He said that Bank Alfalah was one of the largest donors to rehabilitate the flood affectees, making a donation of $10 million. “We invested a lot in getting people sustainable housing as we are very conscious about the environment”.
12:01pm — Nabila Yazdani, Head of Strategy, Communication & Sustainability, Zong CMPAK, highlights importance of solarisation
“Our focus is on how we invest in our infrastructure which is energy-sufficient and sustainable in the long run,” Yazdani said.
She also spoke on the steps taken by Zong to reduce carbon emissions such as solarisation and highlighted the importance of digitalisation.
11:55am — Danish Khaliq, VP Sales and Strategy, BYD / Mega Motor Company, talks about EVs
“When we talk about the impact on emissions, when we specifically look at EVs, there is a reduction of 70 to 80pc in comparison to traditional vehicles. And plug-in hybrid vehicles, there is a 60pc reduction,” he said.
Speaking on BYD’s commitment towards the environment, he said, “There has been a carbon reduction of about 80 million tonnes from the switch over in EVs produced by BYD. That is equivalent to 1.3 bn trees absorbing carbon from the environment.”
11:47am — Kate Wilson Hargreaves, Director Climate and Environment DAI UK talks about climate finance
“I think the private sector has three big things that it can do to unblock climate finance challenges. To quote Valerie Hickey, we need to fix the plumbing, so the enabling environment for climate finance needs fixing and support,” Hargreaves said.
She highlighted the role of the private sector in fixing the environment for climate finance, creating a high-quality pipeline of banking projects and unlocking barriers for marginalised groups.
11:38am — Shahzain Munir stresses need to keep food affordable for masses
“We have climate change as a challenge, and equally catastrophic is malnutrition and keeping food affordable for our masses.
“Climate change is not everyone’s problem: it’s predominantly a problem for the poor. And we have to face the facts,” the executive director of EBM said.
He said that the private sector would lead, but the time for awareness and projects was over.
“But we need the government to support us in keeping food affordable for our masses.”
11:28am — Fakhar Ahmed, Chief Corporate & Regulatory Officer, Jazz, sheds light on role of tech companies
Speaking on digitalisation, he said: “Tech companies have started to do a lot. Most companies are geared towards net zero ambition which is number one in the largest scope of things which is to reduce their carbon footprint.”
“All the tech and tech economy is powered by electricity and electricity comes from fossil fuels, batteries of lithium … So what do we do?”
Ahmed spoke about the role of tech companies in promoting early-warning systems, disaster mitigation, and actions to be taken in post-disaster situations.
He highlighted that technology companies can take the following measures: renewable energy, raise awareness, early warning system for climate disasters and post-disaster factors.
11:26am — Wajeeha Qamar highlights govt’s policy on EVs
Wajeeha Qamar, Parliamentary Secretary Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, shed light on how the Pakistani government had revised its EV (electric vehicle) policy and established a public-private partnership framework to encourage private-sector investment in clean transportation.
“Incentives have been developed to promote the adoption of low-emission vehicles, and emission standards are also being developed to enforce regular emissions,” she said.
11:18 — Syed Babar Ali, Founder, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) speaks about saving water
He stressed the need for Pakistan to realise how important it is to save our water. “The industries can play a very important role in reducing the quantity of fresh water they use. The freshwater they use should be recycled to make sure not a drop of that is wasted.”
He noted that it is financially advantageous to recycle chrome found in the leather industry. Syed Babar Ali also called for greater education of farmers to use drip irrigation, for example, calling on the government to educate itself, after which the knowledge should be shared with industries and farmers.
“We still have more water than most countries in the world, and we should be grateful for what we have. We should look after it, preserve it. We are not harvesting our rainwater the way it can be done, both in the cities and elsewhere.”
11:13am — Conference a wake-up call, says Muneer Kamal, CEO & Secretary General Pakistan Banks Association
Now Muneer Kamal (Former chairman of the board of directors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange) is speaking.
He quoted a COP23 report stating that Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country as far as climate change is concerned. “This conference is a wake-up call for us to do something,” he said, adding that there is a lot more left to be done to address this challenge.
“We have seen the impact of climate change in 2022. It is now globally accepted that what happened in 2022 in Pakistan through the massive floods was a direct result of climate change. And just within one year and a few months, a poor country like Pakistan lost about $12.5 billion — that’s staggering for a country that’s struggling to reach $2,000 per capita income.”
“Between 2023 and 2030, Pakistan need $348bn. If we do not address this aspect now, Pakistan by 2050 will have lost 18-20pc of its GDP.”
11:02am — Daud Munir takes the podium
Munir, a policy expert and senior legal practitioner, noted that climate change is a tough subject, one that’s high on the complexity scale. “It has impacts that emerge somewhere in the future and causes that may be based in countries or beyond borders. It is an issue that implores us to leave the present and think about future generations.
“The collaboration between the public sector and private sector takes centre stage. It’s not a peripheral issue; to me, it stands at the very centre of how the solution comes in,” Munir said.
He noted the need for a fundamental shift to tackle the climate problem, in a new interaction between the government and private sector. Munir acknowledged that the government has taken a facilitative turn.
“Through the Public Private Partnership Authority, the P3A, there is now a fully functional formal avenue to foster the public-private partnerships and dialogue, which is important as it exemplifies this fundamental shift in approach.”
11am — Session on govt, private sector dialogue on climate resilience
10:40am — Break
The conference is currently on a break, stay tuned for more live updates.
10:27am — Abdullah Fadil says mobilising young people crucial in fight against climate change
The Unicef Representative in Pakistan questioned how best to utilise social media to mobilise young people in the fight against climate change. He highlighted the need to take concrete action to make an impact in Pakistan, especially through community and grassroots initiatives.
“Educating young people and making sure school curriculums include how to protect the climate and have ownership of this issue is crucial,” the Unicef representative said.
He emphasised the need to establish a “national volunteer court” focusing on young people aged 15 to 24, that could mobilise millions of young people to work through the Indus River in terms of restoration and cleaning.
Speaking about broader solutions, he said, “How do we get out of this conference and mobilise these millions of young people, particularly those who are not in education and training? But also for those who are in education and training, how do we combine all of this energy and resources to make an impact in Pakistan? That is, I think, a call to action.”
10:20am — Florence Rolle highlights importance of restoring Indus Basin
The FAO representative in Pakistan spoke on the importance of the Indus ecosystem, calling the Punjab government’s efforts the “engine” for the global and national push for rehabilitating and restoring the Indus basin.
“The focus today for the Indus Basin is about restoration; It’s not only about protection of the whole ecosystem,” she said. “You need to harness the creativity, energy and mobilisation of people” urging the need for “citizenship-led development”.
10:14am — Aban Marker Kabraji speaks on Living Indus
The project began from the call by the UN Secretary General on the triple planetary crisis; the crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. She noted the need to focus on the source of sustenance in Pakistan — water.
Kabraji went on to say that since we live in an “extremely unpredictable situation”, we must plan within the context of unpredictability, calling the Living Indus programme Pakistan’s adaptation plan for the future.
9:58am — Romina Khurshid Alam welcomes Zunaira Qayyum Baloch talks about environmental degradation
The Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change noted that Pakistan stands at a defining moment in its climate journey. “As a country on the frontline of climate change, we face mounting challenges, extreme weather patterns, water scarcity and environmental degradation.”
However, Pakistan is not defined by these challenges alone, she went on to say. “We are defined by our resilience and our ability to overcome adversity,” she said. “We are not merely passive victims of climate change, we are active participants in foraging solutions.”
She highlighted that this was a question of justice; “Pakistan is paying the price of something created by others”. Alam added that the devastating loss of life and critical infrastructure in the recent floods is all the more reason that Pakistan must leave no stone unturned in its effort to rescue, rehabilitate and rebuild.
9:32am — Senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb speaks on Punjab’s first climate resilience policy
The senior minister has dedicated her keynote address to speaking about the Punjab climate experience over the past 12 months. “We had to take a comprehensive, holistic, integrated, multisectoral approach towards climate resilience across Punjab,” she said while addressing severe floods, heatwaves, hazardous air quality and water shortages in South Punjab.
Punjab has formulated its first climate resilience policy through the lens of adaptation and mitigation, with climate justice being central to the policy. A total of Rs10 billion has been allocated to smog mitigation, while Rs100bn has been allocated to climate resilience projects across Punjab.
While noting that climate change transcends borders, Aurangzeb unveiled that Pakistan has begun its dialogue with India and written a letter to the foreign ministry to initiate dialogue with countries in the region that have a direct impact on the air quality.
9:27am — Planning, Development & Special Initiatives For Pakistan Ahsan Iqbal address moot
The planning minister suggested that the United Nations create some form of a global environmental tax for polluters, and from that tax, the money should be used as a fund to help countries in the Global South meet the challenges of climate change.
Day one of the moot began at 10am and concluded past 6pm at Islamabad’s Jinnah Convention Centre after a marathon session of discussions, keynote addresses, and speeches by various experts and dignitaries elaborating on issues, challenges, opportunities and solutions related to climate change and pollution.
For our Day 1 coverage, read more here.
Header image: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses the Breathe Pakistan conference in Islamabad on Friday. — Tanveer Shahzad
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