By: Ahsan Jamil


Staff Report ISB: Science and diplomacy are interlaced together; both can abet each other in many ways. In todays world there are numerous common challenges that world faces such as climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity reduction etc. Even sworn rival nations many times are posed to a common challenge that needs common resolve to defy it. There is a growing need to create awareness and train resource in this regard to create science diplomats that can bring countries together for larger good through cooperation in SandT. This need was sensed by COMSATS earlier this year by launching Science Diplomacy programme.


Under aegis of the above said programme, a session titled as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Kyoto Protocol, and Beyond was jointly organized by COMSATS headquarter and Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS). The event was aimed to address various grave aspects of climate change and the role of science diplomacy to address them. Climate change is the global concern that has rung alarm bells for various countries including Pakistan and without taking joint initiatives it is redundant to achieve the desired objectives to mitigate the impacts of the heavy challenge. Therefore, it is inevitable to inculcate SandT in the minds of policy makers and diplomats to use it as adhesive to meditate cooperation with respective countries. The event orbited around the same theme and highlighted various dimensions of Science diplomacy and its function that it can play globally to diminish the horrific climate change implications by bringing nations and stakeholders together for a common resolve.


COMSATS Science Ambassador for Climate Change, Dr. Athar Hussain apprised the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the role of Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 by a number of nations. He informed that the Protocol calls for reducing GHG emissions to an average of at least 18% below 1990 levels. Science diplomacy is the only road leading to the common destination and SandT can play exponential role in policy making and forming allegiance with countries facing common issue of climate change therefore, focus on science diplomacy must be made because it is the apt time.


To fortify science diplomacy culture, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between COMSATS and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) to solemnize the cooperation and to consolidate and disseminate the objectives to wider audience to cater the maximum potential through science diplomacy initiatives.


The event was a primer for scientists, diplomats, academicians, students, researchers with the aim to introduce science diplomacy activities and practices in climate change perspective within their jurisdiction to weave a network of science diplomats to resolve conflicts and reach a pragmatic conclusion through conflict resolving techniques that lead to reach a consensus.


The coordination and effective communication between all the stakeholders is compulsory to identify the areas of mutual cooperation and execute the deliberations effectively. There is a growing need for creating science diplomacy awareness in Pakistan as well and it can account for various shambling challenges. These sorts of events will inject an elixir of awareness in Pakistan that may curtail the science diplomacy absence driven impasse in the country.

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