ISLAMABAD, SEPT 25 (DNA) – Jean-Francois Cautain Ambassador of European Union to Pakistan said on Sunday the EU was ready to help Pakistan overcome its energy needs adding in climate change filed EU had a lot to share with Pakistan and help this country tackle with greenhouse gas emissions issues.
The EU ambassador was speaking on the occasion of climate change week celebrations held at PNCA on Sunday.
The Ambassador also explained the rationale behind today’s initiative: “Pakistan is ranked as one of the most vulnerable countries as regard to consequences of Climate Change.
This event is to contribute to raise awareness in Pakistan on the importance of tackling this issue today and not tomorrow.
It is also an opportunity to create synergy between different actors, government representative, diplomats, civil society and media in an enjoyable and meaningful environment”
Politicians here need to focus more on climate change issues in order to overcome energy crisis also. The EU is working with Pakistan in this field and will continue to work with this country both on short term and longer term basis.
He encouraged people to use bicycles instead of cars to go to market and other nearby places in order to make environment clean. He cited various examples also where people preferred bicycles to reach their destinations.
Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan, Jean-François Cautain said, “For decades the European Union (EU) and its Members States have been on the forefront to fight Climate Change. We have committed our countries to ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and I am very pleased to say that we are on the right track to achieve them.”
The Ambassador also explained the rationale behind today’s initiative: “Pakistan is ranked as one of the most vulnerable countries as regard to consequences of Climate Change.
This event is to contribute to raise awareness in Pakistan on the importance of tackling this issue today and not tomorrow. It is also an opportunity to create synergy between different actors, government representative, diplomats, civil society and media in an enjoyable and meaningful environment”
While, Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General WWF-Pakistan, stressed the importance of promoting a common worldwide understanding of the need for action to mitigate climate change, “No matter how people perceive climate change, the phenomenon is real – we are experiencing an array of environmental shifts, such as infrequent weather events, untimely glacial melt, glacial lake outbursts floods (GLOFs) and changes in animal and bird migration patterns, highlighting irrefutable linkages to climate change taking place in full effect.”
Ambassador of France, Martine Dorance and the Chargé d’Affaires of Morocco, Dr Mohamed Kalakhi, were invited on stage to recall last year’s COP 21 milestone that represents the Paris Agreement in the fight against Climate Change and how Morocco is preparing to host the COP 22 conference, which will be held in November in Marrakesh.
Each year, in September, European embassies around the world celebrate the Climate Diplomacy Week, with events taking place to highlight climate action in the EU and beyond. Conferences, citizens’ debates, exhibitions, films and social media activities aim to encourage informed debate and a joint response to the climate challenge. These events build on the momentum of the Paris Agreement – the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal agreed in Paris last December.
Although Pakistan’s global carbon emissions are very low compared to large emitters like China, Russia, India and the USA, globally but it is placed in the top ten countries that are highly vulnerable to climate change, with impacts such as floods, droughts, heatwaves and glacial lake outburst floods increasing yearly.
The Climate Diplomacy Day took place alongside the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, the first since the adoption of the Paris agreement in December last year, convened under the theme ‘The Sustainable Development Goals: a universal push to transform our world’, with particular focus on goal number 13 i.e. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
The European Union is a unique political and economic union between 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent.
The European Union was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958.
What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organization spanning policy areas, from climate, environment and health to external relations and security, justice and migration. A name change from the European Economic Community (EEC) to the European Union (EU) in 1993 reflected this.
The European Union is based on the rule of law, “Everything it does is founded on treaties, voluntarily and democratically agreed by its member countries and the European Parliament.”
The European Union has delivered almost 60 years of peace, stability and prosperity, helped raise living standards and launched a single European currency: the euro. Human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights: these are the core values of the EU.
Secretary Ministry of Climate Change Syed Abu Ahmad Akif also spoke on the occasion. Earlier the ambassador thanked all those who contributed to make the event a complete success. He particularly mentioned role of CDA, Islamabad Police and WWF officials for putting in their best efforts.=DNA
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