ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a roundtable conference urged the international community to come forward and support Pakistan in its fight against climate change.

These views were expressed by the participants comprising officials of government ministries, representatives of civil society and international development partners at a roundtable conference organised by the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) here on Thursday in connection with the upcoming COP-28, scheduled to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 12.

The participants of the roundtable with the title “Pakistan’s Roadmap for COP-28”, shared their views and deliberated that Pakistan was one of the most affected country by climatic change, stating that the last year’s floods were clear indicator of it. However, at the same time, Pakistan had made significant progress on number of fronts and built institutions and undertaken some noteworthy measures against climatic changes and recurring disasters.

However, recognising the scale and gravity of the challenge, the speakers said, the international community must come forward and support Pakistan in its endeavours on fight against climate change. They emphasised that Pakistan should present its narrative and stance at COP-28 in an impactful and persuasive manner and mobilise support and build partnerships.

The participants of the roundtable also identified the specific COP agenda points, which were of particular interest for Pakistan. They stressed on including prompt operationalisation of Loss and Damage Fund, bridging the financing gap on adaptation and facilitating the technology transfer and de-fragmentation of international climate finance infrastructure.

The civil society members expressed their support to the government at the COP-28 in fostering and raising Pakistan position and narrative through their international and regional networks.

The roundtable ended with expressing appreciations and gratitude to the NDRMF for taking the lead on arranging pre-COP deliberations and engaging a wide set of stakeholders.

Those who attended the roundtable included Chief Executive Officer NDRMF Bilal Anwar, Asif Sherazi of Islamic Relief Pakistan and ex-director Muslim Hands Jawed Gillani.

The United Nations annual conference on climate change, also known as COP), is set to bring together a large number of political leaders, scientific community, civil society and international climate activists in the UAE to discuss and devise a strategy to deal with the harmful effects of the climate change.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2023