The minister calls for a climate emergency in Pakistan; the panellists claim that female agricultural workers are not receiving the proper social protection
The minister for climate change on Tuesday urged Pakistan to declare a “climate emergency” and called for actions to be taken from a gender-centric perspective to lessen the effects of global warming.
Minister claimed that women and climate action were not “niche subjects” but rather essential components of the system while speaking at a seminar that promoted female-led solutions for climate justice.
All the major political parties were represented at the seminar, and the transgender and disability communities also attended. The media, academia, civil society organisations, and women in politics were also included.
Naeem Mirza, the Aurat Foundation’s executive director, gave the opening remarks. He emphasised that the US and China were the two main carbon emitters, accounting for 29% and 31% of emissions, respectively.
The minister calls for a climate emergency in Pakistan; the panellists claim that female agricultural workers are not receiving the proper social protection
The research on how women can combat climate change was presented by researcher and environmentalist Simi Kamal. She highlighted difficulties in the fight against global warming in her presentation, “Women at the Forefront of Climate Action.”
The impact of climate change in Pakistan and the government’s response, as well as the development of platforms for climate action led by women, are covered in the final section of the booklet, according to the author, which is divided into five sections.
The first section covers the fundamental concept of climate change. She claimed that the task of rebuilding the earth and its resources for a safer climate, equitable living conditions, and environmental justice had come to be carried out by women.
She continued by saying that the world’s economies were failing to produce social, economic, and environmental justice for people and the planet.
Until people challenged the current capitalist and development paradigms of perpetual growth in a finite world, the mantra build it back better” would never be effective. The future, according to her, entailed short-, medium-, and long-term actions and measures. She stated that it should be a top priority for the federal and provincial governments to show political will.
“In the intermediate term, we need to increase the efficacy of the water ministry and the flood commission, change the perception of women and climate change, and create a comprehensive training programme on ecosystem-based adaptation.”
Dr. Aliya Hashmi Khan, a retired professor at Quaid-i-Azam University, argued that climate change is not being taken seriously in the context of gender and that it is important for Pakistan to recognise women who work in the agriculture sector and collect periodic and updated information on them.
She concluded by saying, “We cannot resolve the issues of injustice without considering the big picture. This report is significant because it discusses partnerships between governments, partnerships with the donor community, and movements that women are involved in.
The chair of the SDPI board of governors, Shafqat Kakakhel, stated that the short, medium, and long-term actions outlined in the report are all doable and expressed hope that Pakistan could muster the political will necessary to mobilise resources to complete this task.
Former Canadian prime minister Kim Campbell emphasised the importance of forging solid alliances between national and international actors concerned with combating climate change.
According to Luke Myers, a representative of the Canadian High Commission, the purpose of the event was to draw attention to the difficulties Pakistani women face in battling climate change.