Azerbaijan is hosting COP29 of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Nov this year at capital city of Baku while Pakistan is taking needful climate actions and a high level delegation will participate in the conference to share her achievements in this regard, and as the President of COP29 Mukhtar Babayev visited Islamabad few months ago , a thought provoking Pre-Cop29 conference was organized by Centre for Climate Diplomacy in Islamabad to further exchange the ideas and information with participation of the organizations working on climate change and the officials of government of Pakistan.
Ms Amna Munawwar Awan, President of the Centre for Climate Diplomacy hosted the conference where H.E Romina Khursheed Alam, Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC) and Ambassador of Azerbaijan H.E Khazar Farhadov were the special guests. Director General of Environment Protection Agency EPA of GoP , Farzana Altaf, Secretary General Inter-Parliamentary Union , former Senator Sitara Ayaz and other prominent personalities and stake holders, especially the youth representatives were also present.
The main purpose of the conference was to prepare the stakeholders of climate diplomacy and cooperation to enhance their resolve and enable them to take required actions that can minimize the affects of the climate change.
The speakers were unanimous on the points that it is collective responsibility, every country, every sector and everyone including children, youth, women have to play their due role to save the earth from the disasters and calamities caused by environmental pollution, carbon emissions and other hazardous activities.
Ms Romina Khursheed Alam was the host of the President of COP29 during his visit to Pakistan. She, in her keynote address, reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to implementing the National Climate Action Plan, aiming to mitigate climate disaster risks through collective efforts. She recognized the crucial role of the media and civil society, particularly the Centre for Climate Diplomacy, in advocating for climate justice.
She, most recently on 18 Sep 2024 emphasized the significance of COP29 as a platform for Pakistan to present its climate actions, challenges, and potential solutions. Addressing a meeting of development partners regarding preparation for 29th COP of UNFCCC, she highlighted the need for collaboration to achieve climate diplomacy goals, promote gender equality, and advance smart agriculture initiatives through private sector engagement.
Ambassador of Azerbaijan Khazar Farhadov, in his address, said , ” Climate Change is not the issue of one country. It is global challenge that needs global , combined action. Azerbaijan lastly hosted Non Aligned Movement NAM conference with collective and inclusive vision and we are prepared to host another international event COP29 that expresses our seriousness for shared well being and benefits.
Mr. Khazar talked about his country’s preparation for successful and inclusive COP29. He emphasized about initiatives that have been launched by COP29 Presidency to focus global attention and accelerate climate action, including COP29 Truce Appeal.
Here it is worth noting the contributions of Azerbaijan in the implementation of SDGs and tasks set by UNFCCC and Paris Agreement. The last COP28 held in UAE concluded on “Beginning of End to Fossil Fuels”that is mainly Petroleum.
Azerbaijan’s rich economy consists of many sectors but Petro industry has a large portion of the national economy. But now Azerbaijan is rapidly shifting to green energy. The host of COP29 has set a goal of achieving 30% green energy until 2030. This is unique example that is supposed to be followed by the others.
Ambassador Farhadov, in his address, mentioned the destruction intentionally done by the Armenians in occupied territories of Karabakh that were liberated during Second Karabakh War. He shared , ” We have seen Man Made Destruction in Karabakh. Armenians did their worst with the environment by polluting the ravines and destroyed the heritage there.”
” We are restoring the environment in newly liberated territories. Azerbaijan is working upon maintaining a solid supply of energy to these areas with the environment is saved, Ambassador noted.
H.E Khazar Farhadov emphasized , ” We are changing the face of Azerbaijan. Europe is importing energy from Azerbaijan. We are working on climate actions seriously. We know Pakistan is affected by climate change. Azerbaijan , Pakistan and Turkiye are together to take the challenge seriously.”
Director General EPA, Farzana Altaf, identified challenges in policy implementation and offered guidelines for environmental protection. She was active last year to inspecting different industrial sectors in and around Islamabad promoting the awareness about environment and checking the implementation of rules & regulations. Later she fell ill and a break occurred that is going on till now. EPA also worked upon turning the brick kilns from straight to zig zag type solution for reducing carbon emissions. Ms Sitara Ayaz was leading Pakistani election observers delegation of parliamentarians and her staff of IPU few weeks ago. She mentioned about some smoke or smog in the whole city of Baku. She roughly said that may be this is from Turkmenistan like Pakistan sometimes have it from India.
Her remarks could not be understood properly because India and Pakistan have common border but there is none between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. Caspian sea separates both countries.
(The Caspian sea stretches 1,200 km (750 mi) from north to south, with an average width of 320 km (200 mi). Its gross coverage is 386,400 km2 (149,200 sq mi) and the surface is about 27 m (89 ft) below sea level.)
Dr. Zafar Jaspal of Qauid e Azam University highlighted the significant threat climate change poses to human security and the critical role of science diplomacy.
Bilal Anwar, CEO of NDMRF, underscored the importance of advocating for climate justice and financing, while also highlighting the need for public-private partnerships to drive innovative climate adaptation solutions. Umair Mufakir shared key elements of Pakistan’s national climate action plan.
Amna Munawwar Awan extended gratitude to the attendees for their valuable contributions. She proposed publishing a national policy framework on climate adaptation and resilience based on the insights gathered during the Pre-COP 29 discussions.
The hybrid conference, attended by over 100 foreign ambassadors and dignitaries, marked a significant step forward in strengthening Pakistan’s role in global climate diplomacy.
Major part of the participants consisted of youth organizations. The youth of Pakistan is fond of junk fast food, tin packs and glass bottles of energy drinks. Environment can be improved to at least a minimum level if the packings, tin packs and bottles of these food items are disposed off properly.
Pakistan despite contributing less than 1% to global carbon emissions faces severe consequences from climate disasters, including floods and droughts that have devastated infrastructure and livelihoods. The floods in 2022 alone caused over 24 billion PKR in damages. This state of affairs highlights the urgency of addressing climate change in Pakistan, which ranks among the most vulnerable countries globally.
Tazeen Akhtar
Ms Sitara Ayaz was leading Pakistani election observers delegation of parliamentarians and her staff of IPU few weeks ago. She mentioned about some smoke or smog in the whole city of Baku. She roughly said that may be this is from Turkmenistan like Pakistan sometimes have it from India.
