Earth Day: Sherry Rehman urges Pakistanis to tackle climate change

Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman urged Pakistanis to take action to protect the planet.

"The crisis-ridden state of our planet is a global emergency that requires urgent action," the minister tweeted.

She said that indiscriminate use of land resources was causing pollution and other environmental problems, while underlining the need to prioritize investing in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, elimination of plastic, climate-friendly lifestyles and forests to protect the earth.

"On this Earth Day, let's commit to combat climate change and restore our ecosystems. Inaction is not an option.

So let’s work towards a more sustainable economy that benefits both people and our home because there is no Planet B," she said.

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 that began in 1970 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG, whose mission is to "diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide".

Earlier, a global health chief said extreme weather events in Malawi and Pakistan have driven "very sharp" rises in malaria infections and deaths.

Malaria cases spike in Malawi, Pakistan after 'climate-driven' disasters

As per World Health Organization (WHO), cases in Pakistan last year, after devastating floods left a third of the country under water, rose four-fold to 1.6 million.

"What we've seen in places like Pakistan and Malawi is real evidence of the impact that climate change is having on malaria," he said.

"So you have these extreme weather events, whether flooding in Pakistan or the cyclone in Malawi, leaving lots of stagnant water around the place.

"And we saw a very sharp uptick in infections and deaths from malaria in both places," he said.