Lahore, 2 August 2021 (TDI): In a recent report by UNDP Pakistan, UNDP Resident Representative Knut Ostby congratulates Pakistan on the reduction of climate vulnerability by three points from 5th in 2020 to 8th in 2021. In conjunction, Pakistan also was the host of the global World Environment Day that coincided with the UN Decade for the Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030. Another point to note is that under the “Green Economic Stimulus” program, one billion trees were planted as per the goal. Apart from this, the “green Nlgehabaan Initiative” is also a success, writes Mr. Ostby in the report.
The 6 percent allocation of the federal budget, USD 93 million is a record budget for the climate initiative for 2021-2022, although Pakistan’s contribution to global climate change is less than 1 percent. Keeping in mind the 10,000 lives lost from 1998-2018, glacier melting, enormous floods, landslides, locust infestations, urban displacements, and migration due to climate change, Ostby stresses the impact of the recent initiatives by the government and the UNDP is a positive sign.
Mr. Ostby adds that “Pakistan’s government is now actively exploring nature capital-based solutions as innovative ways to meet the country’s climate financing needs for post-COVID-19 socioeconomic recovery and resilience.”
