PM Shahbaz leaves for Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to participate in the ‘Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit’

ISLAMABAD, Nov 06, (SABAH): Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif left for Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to participate in the “Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit” on 7-8 November 2022.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is accompanied by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other cabinet members and senior officials. This Summit is taking place as part of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-27). At the invitation of the Egyptian Presidency of COP-27, the Prime Minister would also co-Chair, along with his Norwegian counterpart, a high-level roundtable discussion on “Climate Change and the sustainability of vulnerable communities” on 8th November 2022.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will also participate in other high-level events as a speaker, including the UN Secretary General’s roundtable to launch the Early Warning Systems for Executive Action Plan, and the “Middle East Green Initiative Summit” on 7th November; being hosted by Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HRH Mohammad bin Salman.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders on the margins of the Summit. COP-27 is taking place at a time when millions of people in Pakistan, and millions more in other parts of the world, are facing severe adverse impacts of climate change.

As a developing country most affected by this phenomenon, Pakistan would make a robust call, inter alia, for urgency of climate solidarity and climate justice, based on the established principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. In its capacity as the incumbent Chair of the Group of 77 & China, which is the largest negotiating bloc of developing countries within the UN system, Pakistan would also lead the Group in the climate change negotiations; including in thematic areas such as climate finance, adaptation, mitigation, and capacity building.

The COP is the supreme decision making body under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which meets on annual basis to review and advance collective efforts to address climate change. As a main stakeholder, Pakistan would continue to, proactively, make positive contributions to the global climate change debate, negotiations and collective action.

Meanwhile PM Shehbaz Sharif in a statement issued on twitter on Sunday said that COP27 being held in Egypt can be a watershed in humanity’s fight against climate change and global warming. Extreme climatic events in Pakistan and Horn of Africa this year have showcased globalisation of climate change. Turning a blind eye to its lethal effects will be criminal.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said that as Chair of G-77, I will urge the world to deliver on its commitment on climate finance and loss and damage fund. Without financial support, the developing countries will continue to remain exposed to the multifarious threats of climate change. We are asking for climate justice, he said.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said that our post-disaster needs assessment has shown that Pakistan’s journey to recovery and rehabilitation can be held back by public debt, rising international energy and food prices and lack of access to adaption funds. The world should treat Pakistan as a case study, he said.