Islamabad, October 04, 2022 (PPI-OT):Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Tuesday that the climate justice demanded judicious and timely provision of climate funds to developing countries. He also said that further delay in disbursement of pledged funds for adaptation and mitigation could result in irreparable damage to the cause of achieving a cleaner and greener world for all.
The National Assembly Speaker expressed these views in his meeting with the Islamabad based diplomats of the African Bloc of the Antiparliamentary Union (IPU), at Parliament House, Islamabad. The meeting was aimed to garner support of the IPU’s African Member Parliaments for the National Assembly’s proposal of creation of a global climate fund through a passage of resolution in the forthcoming 145th IPU Assembly in Rwanda from October 11-15, 2022.
Speaker underscored that climate change was one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. He also said that it had played havoc in Pakistan; millions of people had lost their lives and livelihoods. “Today it is Pakistan but tomorrow it can be any other country”, he added. He stressed that it was essential to sensitize the world about the existential threats faced by the developing nations both in Asia and Africa.
He remarked that the international community had come forward to support Pakistan but unfortunately there was more talk than action. He said that Pakistan was not asking for aid or assistance but her rightful share. He raised the question of why Pakistan would bear the brunt of climate change, caused by the actions of big polluters. He said that developed nations had to take responsibility for their inability to cut their carbon emissions.
He also outlined that the National Assembly of Pakistan had proposed an emergency item in forthcoming 145th International Parliamentary union Assembly in Rwanda from October 11-15, 2022. The proposed item would call for climate justice coupled with creation of a global climate fund for developing nations to combat climate induced catastrophes.
He mentioned that the National Assembly had already dispatched letters to all African parliaments with a request to back the Assembly’s proposal, not only for the benefit of Pakistan but also for their own benefit as well. He urged the emissaries to play their due role in the struggle for climate justice.
African Diplomats seconded the Speaker’s proposal and assured him to pass on the message to the leadership of their respective countries for further action. The dignitaries also highlighted how rampant climate changes in Africa in the form of higher temperatures, drought, changing rainfall patterns, and increased climate variability were impeding human development.
The meeting ended on an agreement that “climate change is a global problem and warrants global solution through collective efforts.” The meeting was attended by delegates from Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Somalia and Libya.
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