Islamabad: The Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change emphasized that comprehensive efforts would be made to highlight Pakistan’s climate vulnerabilities and resilience-building initiatives across various socio-economic sectors, including agriculture, water, energy, health, education, and gender. At the first meeting of the Prime Minister’s Committee for the 29th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 29), she urged participants to develop a coordinated plan with federal and provincial departments to showcase these efforts.
The meeting, focused on preparing for Pakistan’s active participation in COP29, underscored the need for a well-conceived plan to present the country’s self-funded resilience measures. The Coordinator stressed highlighting Pakistan’s financial, technological, and capacity-building needs to enhance resilience against climate risks through adaptation and mitigation strategies. She noted the international community’s recognition of Pakistan’s significant climate challenges, such as recurrent flooding, heatwaves, and changing monsoon patterns.
She underscored the importance of adaptation strategies and called for proposals to enhance resilience in vulnerable sectors like agriculture and water management. Despite its small carbon footprint, Pakistan is actively working to reduce emissions by adopting renewable energy, promoting electric vehicles and mass transit systems, increasing forest cover, and utilizing smart farming techniques. The Coordinator highlighted Pakistan’s commitment to advocating for greater international cooperation and equitable climate finance.
The meeting concluded with a commitment to hold weekly consultative sessions involving sector experts and representatives from relevant ministries and organizations to finalize preparations for COP29. Attendees included senior officials from various government divisions, non-governmental organizations, and climate experts, who will collaborate to ensure a comprehensive and unified approach for Pakistan’s participation in the global climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.
