WORLD
Pakistan to push for more climate finance flows at upcoming global climate talks in Baku
Islamabad, Hilal Ahmad, 28 October, AZERTAC
Pakistan will push for more climate finance flows at upcoming global climate talks in Baku, the capital of Republic of Azerbaijan. This was stated by the Coordinator to Pakistani Prime Minister on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam while addressing a day-long event ‘Pre-COP29 dialogue: Road from Dubai to Baku’ in Islamabad on Monday.
She said Pakistan along with other vulnerable countries would strongly push rich polluting countries to honour their climate finance to help developing nations cope with exacerbating climate impacts and transition to a low-carbon future through adaptation and mitigation strategies.
“We are hammering out a strong country position to pursue during the upcoming two-week long UN-led global climate talks (COP29), which would focus on several key issues, reflecting our priorities and challenges related to climate change, namely climate finance, adaptation and resilience, loss and damage and mitigation efforts,” she said.
During the two-week long global climate talks, beginning from November 11, Pakistan would also reiterate the critical need for substantial financial assistance flows from developed countries to support its climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.
She said that Pakistan has been vocal about the need for mechanisms to address loss and damage caused by climate change, particularly for countries that are disproportionately affected despite contributing minimally to global emissions. Therefore, the country’s delegation at the COP29, however, would also call for the fulfillment of prior commitments to ensure vulnerable nations can effectively address climate.
Addressing the event, Pakistan’s Secretary Climate change & Environmental Coordination Ministry Aisha Humera Moriani said the country, like several other vulnerable nations, is bearing the brunt of the unfolding catastrophe. In 2022, Pakistan was hit by a super flood which affected 33 million people, she recalled.
In her welcome remarks, Ayesha Khan, chief executive of the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC), said that it is a serious concern that rich nations have failed to meet their climate finance pledges for the climate vulnerable countries. This has only exacerbated the vulnerability of the poor countries, most of them in Asian countries, to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Pre COP29 Dialogue: From Dubai to Baku was also addressed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Representative Pakistan, Samuel Rizk and Former Pakistani Climate Minister Senator Sherry Rehman. On the occasion, speakers and other climate experts including Federal and Provincial government officials talked about climate change and its global impacts and highlighted various aspects of National and subnational perspectives from Pakistan. They emphasized the positive outcome of the COP29 to be held in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan next month.
The speakers said that despite being part of less than 0.7 percent of global emission by the country, Pakistan is among the 10 most vulnerable countries who have suffered heavily due to global climate and environment change. They said that adaptation and mitigation is a key to resolve and overcome the climate change challenge at the global level. It is worth mentioning that the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Baku, from 11 to 22 November.