ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said that Pakistan faced record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in northern mountains that triggered floods, which have killed more than 1,391 people; displaced 33 million people; swept away houses, roads, railway tracks, bridges, livestock, and crops worth around $ 30 billion.
The speaker expressed these views in his welcome remarks while addressing the "Third Inter-Parliamentary Union Regional Seminar on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Parliaments of Asia-Pacific" at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Tuesday.
“Pakistan hosts this crucial seminar for the Asia Pacific nations at a critical juncture as only [a] few days ago, we faced massive floods. I would urge upon all participants to avail this opportunity to especially focus their deliberations on this grave global climate change challenge to human security. The floods come as the climate emergency continues to wreak havoc across the globe. Europe is confronting its worst drought in 500 years. China is facing an unprecedented heat wave that has dried up rivers and lakes while in Mississippi, USA, residents were told to evacuate the city as it braces for more flooding. The Climate Change Risk Index of 2021, reports that Pakistan is ranked eighth among countries most vulnerable to climate crisis despite contributing less than one per cent to global carbon emissions,” he said.
About the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who visited our flood-ravaged areas on the weekend, the speaker said, "It is unimaginable, today it is Pakistan, tomorrow it could be your country wherever you live. This is a global crisis; it requires a global response." He identified a two-pronged strategy to prevent such catastrophic effects of climate change. First, he called upon G20 countries to immediately boost their national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets every year.
Second, the secretary general also called for new mechanisms for debt relief for climate-vulnerable countries such as Pakistan. He was advocating for debt swaps in which the debtor nation, instead of continuing to make external debt payments, would make payments to finance climate projects at home. He urged for prompt action by the international community especially the elected representatives’ world over as he concluded. It is a question of justice - Pakistan is paying the price of something that was created by others.”
He said that the irreparable loss of precious lives and destruction of even the basic infrastructure such as roads, houses, schools and basic health units by the recent floods, makes it imperative for the Parliament of Pakistan to leave no stone unturned in our efforts of Rescue, Rehabilitation and Rebuilding. “I ensure that the National Assembly of Pakistan will continue to perform a proactive role as a passionate IPU member state through consolidation of joint endeavors for strengthening the democratic tradition in the Asia Pacific Region including but not limited to introducing innovative parliamentary mechanisms for institutionalizing the 2030 development agenda.”
He said that the seminar provides us a very timely opportunity to re-assess the national and regional strategies towards achieving the SDGs till 2030 in wake of huge socio-economic jolt to our countries due to the covid-19 pandemic especially viz-a-viz challenges of providing decent work, equitable health and ensuring food security in a world marred by adverse effects of climate change in the form of extreme droughts in some regions while flash floods in other.
“Long live our continued passion and joint endeavors towards an integrated set of way forward for implementation of SDGs besides the challenges posed by natural calamities, manmade disasters and the Covid19 pandemic,” he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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