ISLAMABAD: Experts on Wednesday underlined the urgent need to develop global and regional partnerships among governments, development partners and civil society to address natural catastrophes triggered due to climate change.

The Islamic Relief Pakistan organised a one-day symposium titled ‘National Conference on Climate Change: Race Against Time’ where federal ministers, foreign diplomats, and members of civil society participated.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) and Convener National SDGs Task Force, Romina Khurshid Alam said that Pakistan was suffering from climate change which was not just an individual but rather a universal issue.

She expressed her gratitude towards people for supporting the government in this difficult time of post-flood rehabilitation. “Pakistan is the most affected country by floods in Asia. The Ministry of Climate Change and the prime minister are concerned about impacts of climate change,” she said, adding that many other countries including Pakistan were dealing with global warming.

“We cannot forget the devastation caused by last year’s floods. However, we all have to fight climate change together and have to support each other,” she added.

The forum was briefed that Pakistan was at the top of the list among countries affected by climate change worldwide that faced major environmental disasters, which caused immense destruction that resulted in more than 1,700 casualties and property damage worth more than $40 billion.

The Islamic Relief Pakistan has been working with the government and international organisations in Pakistan for a long time to promote the welfare and support for communities affected by climate change. The conference on the impact of climate change highlighted the millions of victims of the recent floods and issues faced by the community’s post-environmental disasters.

Islamic Relief carried out emergency relief measures providing basic necessities to more than one million people in different districts of Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Islamic Relief established temporary education centres for children in these three provinces and built dams to prevent future floods. Islamic Relief was also active in the second phase of rehabilitation of flood victims by building infrastructure, providing economic opportunities for people and building permanent houses.

Country director of Islamic Relief Pakistan Asif Shirazi said that partnerships between local and international organisations were critical to saving millions of lives in the future. “We have to take steps to be prepared in advance for the damage caused by climate change. Balochistan is among the region’s worst affected by climate change. It is a battle against time and we need to act quickly,” he said.

Minister of Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal while talking to the participants said there was need to overcome the effects and destruction of climate change together without further delay.

On this occasion, Canadian Ambassador, Leslie Scanlon said she was happy that people from different parts of the world were discussing the issue of climate change in unison. “We have to fight this growing global problem together and the Canadian government is ready to help in any way it can. We have to save this land for its future generations.”

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2023