A high-level six-member Pakistani delegation led by Prime Minister of Pakistan’s Coordinator Romina Khurshid Alam on Thursday called on COP29 President, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Mukhtar Babayev and discuss various matters of bilateral interests including working together for common environmental sustainability and climate resilience building goals. The PM’s climate aide Romina Khurshid Alam particularly appreciated the COP29 presidency and congratulated him on behalf of Pakistani government for successful arrangement of the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties in Baku capital city, which is being attended by delegations from over 196 countries negotiating on matters related to climate finance, transfer of technology and capacity building. The COP29 president Mr. Mukhtar Babayev thanked the PM’s coordinator on climate change Romina Khurshid Alam and assured his government’s all-out support and cooperation in tackling core climate risks in Pakistan and help build climate resilience of the people of Pakistan and their livelihoods.

The PM’s climate aide Romina Khurshid Alam also lauded participation of Azerbaijani foreign minister in the high-level Climate Finance Rountable organized by Pakistan on November 12, which was presided over by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif at the COP29 venue in Baku. She told the COP29 president Mr. Mukhtar Babayev that Azerbaijan’s foreign minister strongly supported Pakistani PM’s call for rich countries to honour their climate finance pledges and contribute more to enable the developing countries to meet their climate finance needs. She also informed the COP29 president that Pakistan is among the world's most climate-vulnerable countries, despite contributing less than 1% to global greenhouse gas emissions. Its geography, economic dependencies, and limited adaptive capacity make it highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change. Pakistan estimates a need for $348 billion by 2030 to implement its climate resilience and mitigation plans, including Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

But, the country has received limited support from international climate finance mechanisms like many other developing countries. The PM’s climate aide also informed him that Pakistani delegation at COP29 is making all-out efforts to strengthen international partnerships with both developed and developing countries to push for enhanced global cooperation and collaboration on vital issues including transfer of climate finance, technology, technical know-how from global north to global south “We are leaving no option unturned advocating for enhanced funding under the Loss and Damage Fund agreed upon at COP27 behind establishment of which Pakistan was extremely instrumental. The funding under this crucial fund to deal with the worst impacts of climate change in developing countries, particularly floods, heatwaves, droughts, sea-level rise, cyclones,” Romina Khurshid Alam said during the meeting. By addressing these challenges and leveraging international support, Pakistan can enhance its resilience and reduce its climate vulnerabilities.

She also highlighted during the meeting that Pakistan is pursuing regional approach to tackle common climate issues and vulnerabilities of the people, livelihoods and infrastructure. She informed the COP29 president that Pakistan would hold a conference of the Vulnerable Twenty Group (V20) countries in the first quarter of next year to bring 68 member countries together to discuss share knowledge and experiences about common climate risks, their impacts and coping strategies and possible funding avenues to meet the growing climate finance needs to tackle climate change effects on agriculture, water, energy, infrastructure, etc. COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev lauded Pakistan’s position and efforts it is pursuing along with like-minded and G77+ developing countries at COP29 for putting pressure on rich countries to honour their promises of climate finance, technology transfer and enhanced collaboration for technical know-how sharing to deal with the exacerbating fallouts of the global heating. Both sides, hoped that the rich countries would not leave this COP29 global climate talks inconclusive and commit as well as provide more money to meet climate finance needs of the developing countries.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan