Riyadh, 27 October 2021 (TDI): Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, addressed launching ceremony of the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit. The event was hosted by Saudi Arabia on 25th October in Riyadh.
The Prime Minister was received by Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salam bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, upon arrival at the Summit,
The Middle East Green Initiative Summit is an extension of ‘Saudi Green Initiative Forum’. Officials from various countries, including Pakistan Kuwait, Algeria, United Kingdom, Greece, Jordan, Russia, Morocco, Qatar, Yemen, and Iraq, attended the Summit.
Prime Minister Imran Khan congratulated Saudi Arabia on organizing this landmark Summit.
Pakistan is among the topmost vulnerable country due to climate change
Addressing the MGI Summit, the Prime Minister said 10% of countries are responsible for 80% of the world’s emissions. He added Pakistan is among the top ten most vulnerable countries in the world due to climate change. During the past 10 years, the country has experienced 152 harsh weather events. This has incurred an economic loss of over $3.8 billion. He also stated the country’s future climate adaptation cost is estimated at 6 to 14 billion dollars.
Consequentially, to curb the damaging impacts of climate change, Pakistan has undertaken certain initiatives.
Pakistan’s Climate Action Plan
Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Imran Khan also briefed the participants about the initiatives taken by the country concerning climate change. These includes:
- Shifting of 60% of all the country’s energy to green energy by 2030.
- Shifting of 30% of transport to electric vehicles by 2030.
- Postponement of 2400MW of coal projects. Hydroelectric projects of 3700MW have replaced with this. There will be no new coal projects in Pakistan.
- Focusing on nature-based solutions. For this purpose, the incumbent government has planted 2.5 billion trees as part of the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Project
- Planting 1 billion mangroves by 2030.The Prime Minister also informed the participants that Pakistan is the only country where mangroves are growing.
- Expanding wilderness. Prime Minister Imran Khan said, during the COVID-19, national parks in Pakistan increased by 50%. In this process, the country has also provided 85,000 green jobs. Moreover, by 2022, this will rise to 200,000.
- Restoring wetlands and arrangements for diversion of floodwaters.
World Bank acknowledgement of Pakistan
Additionally, the Prime Minister stated World Bank has ranked Pakistan as the top country which has shifted development finance towards a climate-friendly trajectory. He also apprised the participants that 44% of the country’s financing is climate-friendly. This has been made possible through issuing green bonds, blue bonds, nature bonds, and energy transitions mechanisms.
Prime Minister calls for collective global action on climate change
Furthermore, Prime Minister Imran Khan talked about the unprecedented fires, flooding, and water shortages in various parts of the world. He termed climate change as one of the biggest crises faced by humanity.
Moreover, the Prime Minister asked the international community to effectively and mutually tackle the collective challenge of climate change.
Lastly, Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked the Saudi Crown Prince for inviting him to this prestigious summit.
