“This is critical in order to ensure that every citizen of Pakistan is aware of enormous climatic threat we face & is able to play their role in averting it,” Senate Deputy Chairman.
Senate Deputy Chairman Mirza Mohammad Afridi on Tuesday stressed the importance of incorporating climate change into the school curriculum in order to educate future generations about the issues that have arisen as a result of global warming.
“This is critical in order to ensure that every citizen of Pakistan is aware of the enormous climatic threat we face and is able to play their role in averting it,” he said while presiding over a climate change capacity-building seminar for Senate members.
Climate change education is becoming increasingly important in school curricula as the effects of climate change become more apparent.
The seminar was hosted at Parliament House by the Parliamentary Development Unit (PDU) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The session aimed to educate parliamentarians on the effects of climate change as well as remedies and plans to control its density and protect people from its negative effects.
Mr. Afridi stated that every member of society has a critical role to play and must be prepared to overcome the issues and challenges posed by climate change. He stated that youth were valuable contributors to climate action as change agents, entrepreneurs, and innovators.
Senator Seemee Ezdi, chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, emphasised the need for the global North to be held accountable because the developing world is currently suffering the consequences of its environmental excesses, which accounted for 92% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
It was stressed to the participants that it was critical that these countries honor the commitments they made at various global forums. Pakistan, she added, had suffered the effects of global warming and was in desperate need of global justice.
Dr. Imran Khalid, Director Policy and Governance at WWF, emphasised the importance of policy implementation so that Pakistan can play a role in reducing the enormous environmental threat it faces.
Dr. Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General of the World Wildlife Fund, stated that Pakistan must make a critical shift toward alternative energy resources in order to protect the environment.
He emphasized the importance of Pakistan negotiating cutting-edge technology in this context with China, the world leader in renewable energy resources.