Caretaker P.M. Anwaarul Haq Kakar addresses conference on ‘Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.’ Photo courtesy PID
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Wednesday addressed various events on the sidelines of the 78th UNGA summit in New York, calling on richer countries to fulfill their pledges to finance developing nations’ bid to achieve climate resilience.
In his address to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit Leader’s Dialogue, he stressed that wealthier countries must fulfill their pledge to provide $100 billion annually in climate finance. Welcoming the inclusion of several proposals advanced by Pakistan and other developing countries in the SDG Summit Political Declaration, he vowed that Islamabad would seek climate justice at the forthcoming CoP28 Summit.
Separately, he told the Climate Ambition Summit 2023 that all countries must expand their efforts to counter climate change, regardless of their fiscal capabilities and geographical location. He noted that the adverse impacts of climate change were rising in frequency and intensity, disproportionately affecting developing countries. “Pakistan is a prime example,” he said. “Despite contributing less than 1% to global warming, we are among the top 10 most vulnerable countries. The unprecedented floods of last year illustrated this vulnerability but these may just be the tip of the iceberg unless we arrest this global warming,” he added.
Thanking U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his solidarity to Pakistan and mobilization of global support after the floods, he said adaptation to climate vulnerability was a “critical” priority for the country. He noted that Pakistan had adopted its first-ever National Adaptation Plan to build climate resilience, adding the second phase of the plan aimed to target sector-specific investment framework to serve as a blueprint for translating adaptation needs into tangible projects.
During his address, Kakar highlighted Pakistan’s “Living Indus Initiative,” aimed at restoring the ecological health of the Indus basin. He claimed Pakistan had taken significant steps to enhance its early warning capabilities and its flood protection plan. The country, he claimed, aimed to utilize alternative energy sources for 60% of its requirements by 2030, adding this would cost around $100 billion.
Citing Quranic verses, the interim prime minister said Islam promoted responsibility to protect the environment, as well as utilize natural resources efficiently and undertake an equitable approach to nature. Emphasizing the need for support to developing countries, he added: “This will be a litmus test of solidarity and perhaps for the survival of our species on our injured planet.”
In a third address, this time at the U.N. Headquarters, Kakar called for better preparedness against future pandemics. He said Pakistan believed pandemic preparedness, prevention and response could be addressed best through a legally binding treaty as mandated by the World Health Assembly. He further said any scientific discovery essential to saving lives should be treated as a global public good, and made available to all countries and companies without discrimination. In this regard, he said, private companies should not get to decide the production or distribution of vaccines.
The interim prime minister also stressed on a global commitment to remove trade barriers, strengthen supply chains, facilitate the movement of medical and public health goods, diversify manufacturing, capacity across regions and promote technology transfer for developing countries. He said financing effective national, regional and global health emergency preparedness would require approximately $30 billion annually, including an estimated gap of $10 billion in new external financing per year.