STAFF REPORT LHR: Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) Pakistan has recently organised a policy dialogue to discuss how provincial policies and strategies can best serve as vehicles for successful implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the ambitions articulated under the Paris Climate Agreement.
The event titled, Towards 2047: Policy Dialogue on Punjabs Climate and Growth Policies and Strategies was aimed to sensitise key stakeholders to deliberate on a set of salient questions that are critical for the growth, development and well-being of the fast growing but vulnerable population of Punjab.
Various policy experts including Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, CEO, LEAD Pakistan and Director Asia, Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN); Dr. Kaiser Bengali, Advisor of Balochistan government; and Tahia Noon, MPA, shared their views on the subject.
Basharat Saeed, Coordinator Climate Change Programme, LEAD-Pakistan, highlighted the drivers of climate vulnerability in Punjab and emphasized the important role of vulnerability assessments in targeting service delivery and directing development interventions.
Ali Tauqeer Sheikh said poverty and climate vulnerability are intrinsically linked, and this reality makes it imperative to develop a pro-poor climate compatible development strategy for Punjab. This event is on step in the development of such a strategy.
Dr. Qaiser Bangali said the event featured two back-to-back round table discussions where experts talked about climate vulnerability of Punjab and proposed solutions to deal with it.