EDITORIAL: Senator Sherry Rehman is right to note that “institutional Pakistan remains confused about climate change”, urging the country to chart its own path “rather than wait for directives from the global North”. Speaking at the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC) roundtable on post-COP29 outcomes, the senator called for urgent recalibration of the climate agenda, warning that the world was far off track from its climate goals.
Being a former federal minister for climate change and current chair of the climate and environment caucus of the senate, she understands climate issues very well so it’s no surprise that she delivered a stark critique of the outcomes of COP29, calling on Pakistan and other nations of the global South to “rethink their approach to global climate action”.
Similar sentiments have been voiced by experts and activists across the world, calling the purpose behind high-level climate conferences that run into millions of dollars into question.
Everybody knows that no real progress will be made till rich nations, who are responsible for much of the emissions that have caused the climate mess, put up the money required to help poor countries, which have little carbon footprints yet suffer the most from climate changes. And that is where the counties of the North have always disappointed and continue to disappoint.
Indeed, Bangladesh’s Interim Prime Minister Muhammad Younis said it best on the sidelines of COP29 when he reminded the world that it was not necessary for everybody to spend top dollar to fly to such high profile events every year when those that call the shots know very well what needs to be done; and that is to empower poor countries, financially and technologically, to handle with the fallout of global climate change at home.
Yet it’s a shame that so much money is wasted on what has become a grand annual photo opportunity for interest groups that like to talk about climate but never take the steps that will truly make a difference.
That is exactly what Sherry Rehman also meant when she said that the USD 300 billion climate finance pledge for 2035 was “inadequate”. Pakistan alone needs USD 30 billion for loss and damage, she reminded everybody, and that “the delayed USD 100 billion annual pledge undermines trust in global commitments”.
And that explains her call for increased localised action along with a warning against reliance on centralised climate authorities. Platforms like COP29 will have to move beyond rhetoric and lean towards actionable outcomes quickly to retain their credibility.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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