Shehbaz calls for fulfilling commitments of COP27 and COP28 as well as those made in Paris 10 years ago in order to address vulnerable developing nations’ debt burden.  Without climate justice, there can be no real resilience.  PM holds meetings with Azerbaijan president, Chinese vice president.

BAKU  - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday, sensitizing the global community on the risks posed by climate change and the vulnerabilities of developing countries, called for grant-based climate finance that should not add to the debt burden of the developing nations.

The prime minister, addressing the high-level segment of the “World Leaders’ Climate Action Summit” of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) here, called for fulfilling the pledges of COP27 and COP28 as well as those made in Paris 10 years ago.

“I strongly feel that climate finance must be grant-based and not add to the debt burden of vulnerable developing countries. Here is the opportunity that the COP29 should make an understanding loud and clear that we will have to fulfil those financial pledges of COP27 and COP28. Ten years ago in Paris, we had failed to stop the rise in emissions and catastrophic global warming. The Paris pledges made 10 years ago have yet to see the light of the day,” the prime minister said.

He viewed that the COP29 would help understand the calamities already faced by some of the countries and others might face if counter-measures were not taken to create a conducive environment to avert calamities like the one faced by Pakistan in the form of 2022 floods which left millions of the people homeless, millions of house and acre of land submerged, standing crops destroyed, and almost 1700 people dead. Besides, the country also faced an economic loss worth around $30 billion, he added.

Highlighting the devastation faced by the people of Pakistan caused by the climate change-induced floods in 2022, Prime Minister Shehbaz recalled his interaction with a boy Ikramullah in the flood-hit Balochistan who had lost everything to the calamity including his home, school, and entire village.

“My memories are still fresh. I was meeting with people in Balochistan who were affected by the flood. I met a boy by the name of Ikramullah whose entire village was razed on the face of the earth, his home completely demolished and his school submerged,” the prime minister said.

He said as the government had arranged the said boy’s education in another part of the country, he was now becoming a very productive hand of Pakistan. However, even all-out efforts could not subdue the sufferings of all flood-hit children in Pakistan or any other part of the world, he added.

To meet the needs of the populations hit by the impacts of climate change and avert such devastations in the future, Prime Minister Shehbaz reiterated his call for the fulfillment of the pledges made in previous COP summits.

He told the gathering of heads of state and government that Pakistan was one of those countries that hardly contributed half a percent of global emissions but was among the most vulnerable countries at risk of similar devastations.

“Without climate justice, there can be no real resilience and I don’t want other countries to face what Pakistan faced in 2022. Pakistan is a resilient, hardworking and responsible nation. We are fully committed to becoming part of the global climate solutions,” he assured.

Prime Minister Shehbaz told the summit that his government had taken concrete actions to deliver on its commitment to producing 60% of all energy from clean sources and shifting 30% of vehicles to Electric Vehicles (EVs) by the end of this decade. At the same time, Pakistan is going through a renewable energy revolution, he said and also mentioned the presentation of a comprehensive National Adaptation Plan last year and the National Carbon Market Framework this year.

“But we cannot do it alone. Pakistan needs international support to deliver on its climate ambition. The developing countries will need an estimated $6.8 trillion by 2030 to meet at least half their NDCs... We believe that COP29 can transform into Finance COP by restoring confidence in scaling up climate finance,” he remarked.

“Two years ago, I warned that the future would never forgive inaction. Today, I echo that warning with greater urgency and the fullest energy. We know the causes. We know the solutions. Now, we must find the courage to act and act swiftly,” he urged.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the summit.

During the meeting, the PM praised the strong ties between Pakistan and Azerbaijan and expressed optimism about further enhancing cooperation in various fields, including technology sharing and joint ventures in renewable energy.

He congratulated President Aliyev on successful holding of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.  

He commended President Aliyev’s vision and commitment to enhance international cooperation to address challenges posed by climate change, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.  

The prime minister assured him that Pakistan being itself among the most affected countries due to climate change despite its negligible contributions, was committed to work with Azerbaijan and the international community on climate change related challenges.

Both the leaders reviewed the entire range of bilateral relations. They expressed their commitment to further strengthen the strategic partnership between Pakistan and Azerbaijan, particularly in the areas of economic and defence cooperation; as well as people to people and cultural ties.

The two leaders also exchanged views on the escalating situation in the Middle East and other regional and international developments.

The prime minister also met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on the sidelines of the Climate Action Summit of COP-29 and discussed the bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and China.

Referring to the recent visit of the Chinese Premier to Pakistan, the prime minister said that China was a long-standing friend of Pakistan and a new era of strengthening relations between the two countries had begun.  

Highlighting the steps taken by the government for the security of the Chinese nationals in Pakistan, he said that the government of Pakistan was taking all possible steps to ensure the security of Chinese nationals.  

He also highlighted the steps taken by the government to completely eradicate the menace of terrorism and reiterated that the government was committed to root out terrorism from the country.

The Chinese vice premier expressed his desire to work with Pakistan to overcome security challenges and further expand Pak-China cooperation for the development and prosperity of the peoples of the two countries.