Climate Compatible Development in Pakistan - National workshop on Forging Partnerships - March 21, 2016
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A national workshop on ‘Forging Partnerships for Climate Compatible Development in Pakistan” was organized by LEAD Pakistan in collaboration with Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) on March 21st, 2017. The event brought together key stakeholders to establish a coordination mechanism for implementation of National Climate Change Policy in the country. The workshop marked the conclusion of Climate & Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) program in Pakistan, managed by LEAD Pakistan for the past seven years.
The event featured thematic sessions on key climate action areas, such as climate risk management, climate finance readiness and disaster risk management. Federal Minister for Climate Change, H.E. Mr. Zahid Hamid was the Chief Guest of the event. Mr. Zahid Hamid said that Pakistan is among the ten countries, heavily affected by and most vulnerable to climate change disasters. Although, Pakistan’s contribution to GHG is quite low as it ranks 135th among the countries in scale of global contribution. The minister also apprised the participants about the recent development as Pakistan Climate Change Bill has been unanimously passed by the Senate. This makes Pakistan one of the few countries in the world with a law specifically dedicated to climate change. This new law establishes three important institutions: (1) the Pakistan Climate Change Council; (2) the Pakistan Climate Change Authority; and (3) the Pakistan Climate Change Fund.
Engr. Mr. Khalil Raza, Scientific Officer, ECO Science Foundation participated in the workshop. Mr. Khalil applauded the efforts taken by the LEAD Pakistan and CKDN for their remarkable work on development of Climate Compatible Development strategy and organizing this workshop. While expressing his views on Climate Compatible Development, Mr. Khalil said that energy sector is the major contributor of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions to the environment, and role of renewable energy technologies, such as solar, wind and hydel is critical in mitigating and halting the climate change and resolving the energy crisis in the country. Development of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for various appliances should help reduce the wastage of energy and improve energy efficiency, he added. He also shared with the audience that ECO Science Foundation is very much alive to the matter and Climate Change and Energy are among the top priority areas for research funding and collaboration among the 10 ECO member states. He further informed the audience, the Foundation is very much open to partnership in research and awareness on the climate change aspects.