ISLAMABAD: Senator Sherry Rehman on Tuesday called for urgent action to combat climate change and its profound impact on Pakistan, saying that the demand for interventions must go beyond mere government policies and focus on collaborative efforts involving civil society and the wider public.

She was speaking at the Jinnah Institute’s ‘Pakistan’s Race to Resilience’ conference held in Islamabad. The conference brought together experts from the government, international organisations and civil society to discuss challenges and opportunities of climate resilience in Pakistan.

In her opening remarks, Senator Rehman highlighted the devastating impact of climate change on Pakistan, noting that the country had suffered from record-breaking floods, heat waves and droughts in recent years. She, however, said in order to move toward resilience, policies alone could not be the solution, stressing on the need for communities to get involved as well.

“This is something I consistently assert: no government – the most effective government or the most low-intensity government – can achieve climate or environmental goals alone,” she said.

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The senator added that it was highly irresponsible of the public not to raise their voices against climate change, which would eventually affect everyone – from the elderly to the younger generation.

“We all need to become champions of stressing the dangers and the costs of climate inaction,” she said.

Ms Rehman also talked about the outcomes of COP 28 and stressed that while there was an abundance of pre-COP talk about ensuring no one was left behind, yet currently, more than half the world was being excluded from climate-related decision-making.

“Moving from rhetoric to responsibility at COP is crucial and the key message,” she said.

The conference featured two panel discussions, one on climate finance and the other on local adaptation. During the first panel discussion, focusing on climate finance, Najy Benhassine, who is World Bank’s country director for Pakistan, said Pakistan needed to develop its own home-grown plans to access climate finance.

He said the first source of climate financing to face this disaster would come from inside.

British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott said: “In the run-up to COP 28, there has been a lot of talking, but it’s the doing that matters. Renewable sector can attract private sector funding but it is the adaptation financing that is not getting the money.”

Talking about Pakistan facing difficulties in accessing climate financing, Assistant Secretary Ministry of Climate Change Mujtaba Hussein said: “We lack capacity to design technical projects which are called bankable projects. This is one of the primary constraints that Pakistan has so far not been able to access that level of funding for a country of almost 250 million people, the way it should have been.”

The second panel discussion on local adaptation explored the role of communities in building resilience to climate change.

Sobiah Beker, a climate adviser, emphasised the importance of indigenous knowledge in developing adaptation strategies.

“All is not lost yet, and we have a chance for a better future. We need to have an inherent and indigenous understanding of what works and what doesn’t. We need to take that into account for a meaningful change,” Ms Beker said.

She stressed the utmost importance of having robust data on climate change, highlighting the urgency to move beyond rhetoric due to the limited time available.

“Data will help define climate risk profiles and identify the areas susceptible to floods or the next drought. All our adaptation planning must pivot around central elements such as data,” the climate adviser said.

Aafia Salam, a climate journalist, urged the youth to actively raise their voices in combating climate change, highlighting their stake in both how they are governed and by whom. She said the impetus for change must originate from society.

Ahmad Rafay Alam, a lawyer and environmentalist, emphasised the urgency for climate policies and financing that prioritised the underprivileged.

Resident Representative of the UNDP in Pakistan Samuel Rizk talked about the crucial role of communities in adaptation efforts. From Chitral to Gilgit, he said women, despite facing challenges, already possessed innovative ideas and required minimal assistance.

Reflecting on COP 27, Mr Rizk envisioned COP 28 as a critical opportunity for Pakistan.

He stressed on the significance of youth-led policies, emphasising their initiation at the grassroots level.

The conference concluded with a call for collective action to address climate change in Pakistan.

Participants urged the government, international organisations and civil society to work together to build a more resilient Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2023