Panel discussion titled “Why they March: Global Movement for Climate Action”, organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).
Experts at a panel discussion on call upon the government to develop a curriculum on climate literacy at school level in order to educate the young generation and prepare well-thought-out adaptation plans at the district level to help fight the impacts of climate change.
They were expressing these views during a panel discussion titled “Why they March: Global Movement for Climate Action”, organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here at Islamabad.
Speaking on the occasion, Rina Saeed Khan, Environmental Journalist, while quoting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, said that we are already witnessing the consequences of 1 degree Celsius of global warming in the shape of more extreme weather, floods, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice.
“Beyond 2 degree Celsius the world will be very different, where people might fight over food, riots may erupt over climate migrations, and may adversely impact the ecosystems”,
she warned added the government should take measures to make its people climate-proof through better adaptation policies and plans at the district level.
She also urged the youth to take part in climate strike, which is due on 20th September, to express solidarity with the global movement called Climate March to realize the governments and world leaders that the future of our coming generations is on stake.
Dr. Imran Khalid, Head, Environment and Climate Change, SDPI said that regular occurrence of extreme weather events make Pakistan one of the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of the climate crisis. “Most of the affected people are poor and the vulnerable, who live in insecure locales with unreliable food supplies and incomes”, he said.
In order to ensure a sustainable climate future for our future generations, the government needs to be cognizant of the impacts of climate change at local level and prepare its policies accordingly, he added.
Anam Rathor, Climate and Social Justice Organizer said that around 100 large corporates and companies around the world are responsible for 70 per cent of the global emissions.
“Unless rich people and large corporates do not get affected and realize the dire consequences of climate change, the issue of tackling climate change will remain on the back burner”, she lamented.
However, it is encouraging that the young generation is increasingly taking parts on issue related to climate change and raising their voices, as they realized that their future may compromise if they remained silent, she observed.
Qasim Tareen, Progressive Organic Farmer said big real estate tycoons and corporates with strong political backing are now turning the agriculture lands and parks into housing societies, which socio-political and economic consequences.
“There is dire need to protect the agriculture sector through better land management and promoting sustainable agriculture practices in the country,” he said.
Iqbal Badrudin, Representative of Fridays for Future Campaign while highlighting the need for climate literacy and raising awareness among young generation urged the government to develop a curriculum for climate change at the school level to educate the youth to be a responsible citizen and help fight climate change.
He also called upon the international community and world leaders to fulfil their due promises and uphold their responsibilities.
Climate Change Practitioner, Anam Zeb said that environment and climate change are two different things which need to be tackled separately.
“Large corporates and poor government plans and policy choices are mainly responsible for climate change” she said added tackling climate change requires a system change and the governments need to take the right decision.
She urged the government to make citizen-centric policies with an effective implementation framework.