ISLAMABAD: The British High Commission in Islamabad hosted the first “King’s Birthday Party” since 1951, marking King Charles III’s 75th birthday, the High Commission in a statement here on Wednesday.
Utilised as a “national day” by the UK, the event had an environment and climate change theme. This was reflective of both the King’s interests and the high priority given to this work by the UK.
Speaking to an audience that also included caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani as the chief guest, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Jane Marriott outlined the depth of UK-Pakistani cooperation on the environment and climate change.
Noting that since the 2022 floods, the UK has more than doubled investment in climate finance, and climate resilience and adaptation in Pakistan.
Jane Marriott also used the occasion to announce the start of two new climate-related initiatives. This included the start of phase two of the UK’s Climate Finance Accelerator Programme, which will see eight innovative Pakistani-based projects receive technical support to help them find private investment to tackle climate-related issues. As well as a new programme to expand a piloted AI-based “Early Warning Forest Fire Detection System” to cover more forested areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as well as the Federal Capital Territory, which will help protect lives, jobs, livelihoods and Pakistan’s biodiversity.
“With terrible conflicts occurring around the world, international focus on climate change is being tested. However, with COP28 just round the corner, and with time not on our side, it is essential that conversations and actions on climate change continue,” Marriott said.
“We are utilising our King’s Birthday Party – the UK’s National Day - events to do just this, with conversations ranging from how to build on Pakistan’s negotiating success on a Loss and Damage Fund at COP27, to how Pakistan can safeguard its marine economy via the Commonwealth’s Blue Charter,” she further stated.
The King’s Official Birthday is the selected day on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated. It does not necessarily correspond to the date of the monarch’s actual birth. Though in this case it does with King Charles turning 75 on the 14th November. The day is treated as the national day of the United Kingdom.
This is the first King’s Birthday Party since 1951 and the first time a UK monarch’s birthday has been celebrated since the death of, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, on 8th September 2022.
According to the statement, the UK’s Pakistan Network will celebrate the KBP with events in Lahore (16th Nov) and Karachi (17th Nov) – all will be environment and climate-themed.
It added that tackling the effects of Climate Change remains a priority for the UK. In September UK pledged $ 2 billion to the Green Climate Fund, (of which Pakistan is a beneficiary), the biggest single funding commitment the UK has made to help the world tackle climate change.
Since 2011 UK climate aid spending has helped over 95 million people cope with effects of climate change and reduced or avoided over 68 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
It added that the UK is committed to working in partnership with Pakistan to improve climate resilience and address financing needs to tackle climate change.
“We are making good progress with wide-ranging collaborative and innovative projects – from our 5-year water governance programme which has improved the resilience of over two million people through nature-based interventions to the development of a Pakistan Climate Investment Fund which will mobilise private sector climate finance for projects that strengthen Pakistan’s climate resilience,” it added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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