Breathe Pakistan conference in Islamabad on countering climate change begins – Pakistan

A global climate conference — part of DawnMedia’s ‘Breathe Pakistan’ initiative — is underway at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad today.

The two-day international conference will be attended by national and international experts to find viable solutions to climate change. It aims to mobilise finance and find solutions to counter climate change.

The moot will bring together leaders, experts, and innovators who are dedicated to shaping a sustainable future both nationally and internationally, to make Pakistan climate-resilient by 2047.

By engaging prominent figures dedicated to fighting climate change across South Asia, the conference aims to foster meaningful collaboration between South Asian countries to come up with a strategic framework to minimise the adverse impacts of climate disasters.

Climate change knows no borders, and countries in South Asia collectively grapple with issues such as rising temperatures, unpredictable weather patterns, water scarcity, and the increasing frequency of natural disasters.

10:40am — Yahya addresses the event

Mohamed Yahya, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, is now addressing the event.

10:31 — Ahsan Iqbal says climate change ‘lived reality’

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has told the conference that climate change is not some distant challenge but a lived reality.

10:26am — Hameed Haroon addresses the conference

Hameed Haroon, the CEO of the Dawn Media Group, is addressing the conference, alongside Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani, the CEO of Pakistan Herald Publications Private Limited (PHPL).

“The amplification [of Breathe Pakistan] becomes important when you come here because your views and interaction with Pakistani policymakers and NGOs is what will determine the mix of opinions that this country will talk about,” Haroon stressed.

10:18am — Conference kicks off

The conference has begun, with the national anthem being played, followed by the recitation of the Holy Quran.

10:15am — Planning, information ministers arrive

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar have also reached the centre to attend the conference.

9:40 — Guests arrive at the venue

Guests have started to arrive at the Jinnah Convention Centre as the conference is set to begin.

Harjeet Singh, global engagement director for Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, has also arrived at the venue. He will be part of the third panel of The South Asian Symposium on Climate Change, which is scheduled from 3:30pm-6pm.

Speakers

The moot will witness a session on climate finance in which Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and two former State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governors will discuss the critical need for the finance required for adaptation and mitigation.

Valerie Hickey, global director for climate change at the World Bank, will also address this session. Hickey will also speak in a separate panel about climate mainstreaming and increasing adaptive capacities of countries vulnerable to climate change.

The conference will also have a roundtable to inspire dialogue between the government and the corporate sector and explore sustainable public-private partnerships, which will be attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, among others.

A session on agriculture, forestry, and food systems in climate change will be attended by agriculture and forestry experts at which Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Representative Florence Rolle, Climate Change Ministry Secretary Aisha Humera Chaudhry, and former climate change minister Malik Amin Aslam will speak.

In the concluding session of the conference tomorrow (February 7), former prime minister and Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani will address the audience.

Other speakers include climate expert Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, British High Commissioner Jane Marriott, Petroleum Minister Senator Musadik Malik, climate activist Karishma Ali, and youth activist Zunaira Qayyum Baloch, among others.