ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN: The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Pakistan in collaboration with HSF Brussels and the Senate of Pakistan organized a virtual delegation trip for Senators to the European Union (EU) on sustainable development including climate change on 27 and 29 January 2021.
The first day of the virtual delegation trip included an online discussion between the Senate delegation and the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the topic of “Climate change and sustainability - challenges and opportunities in the EU and Pakistan”.
The Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, Senator Sitara Ayaz, represented Pakistan’s side and briefed the participants about the initiatives of the Government of Pakistan to address challenges of climate change and ensure sustainability including the Ten Billion Trees Tsunami Program and Pakistan Clean Green Index. She said:
Responding to the climate change must be a priority for all of us. We must focus on policy interventions if the Paris accord is to be fulfilled. Let’s all work together for a streamlined action to the biggest challenge in the world!
Dr. Markus Ehm, the Resident Representative of HSF Brussels, discussed the EU’s so-called Green Deal aiming to make Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050:
Sustainability and climate change are global challenges of great importance, both in the EU and in Pakistan. Addressing climate change has been one of key political issues in recent years across the European Union – perhaps the most important one.
Dr. Steffen Kudella, the Resident Representative of HSF Pakistan and moderator of the event, highlighted the importance of solving global challenges by global collaboration:
Climate Change is a global problem and needs global cooperation. We believe that formulating answers to non-traditional security challenges such as climate change and promoting global cooperation is necessary for sustainable development.
Mr. Dietmar Krissler, Head of Division Afghanistan & Pakistan at EEAS, discussed with the participants about the EU’s environmental policies and cooperation with Pakistan, including conservational initiatives such as the 10 Billion Trees Tsunami Program, the ban on plastic bags, and the overall target of net-zero emissions till 2050.
It was agreed that there are multiple avenues of cooperation between Pakistan and the EU in terms of climate change and sustainability, especially with regard to implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement and provisions of the 2019 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25). Senator Sitara Ayaz and Dr. Steffen Kudella both also stressed that more regional cooperation in South Asia is the need of the hour to tackle common environmental issues.
The second day of the virtual delegation trip will take place on 29 January 2021 and include bilateral interactions between the Senate delegation and the Directorate-General for Climate Action at the European Commission.
You may find event photos at twitter.com/HSF_Pakistan. For more information on HSF Pakistan please visit pakistan.hss.de. Press contact: islamabad(at)hss.de.