United Nations’ chief Antonio Guterres has, indeed, issued a profound warning to world leaders at a climate summit in Egypt where prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought from global lending agencies and rich countries debt relief. He has also sought climate compensation, and rightly so. According to the UN chief, humanity faces a stark choice between working together on “collective suicide” in the battle against global warming. The UN chief, who visited our country in September, deserves praise for highlighting the plight of Pakistan where recent floods have caused great human misery. He has asked the World Bank in particular to reform policies that govern, according to media reports, “debt relief and concessional loan decisions so as to help middle-income countries like Pakistan to focus on rebuilding rather than repayment”.

The global lending agencies and rich countries must pay heed to the UN chief’s lament and his recommendation by arriving at a rationalist outlook. If they don’t do it, there will be more human misery, to say the least.

Wasim Abbas (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022