Zubair Qureshi
The Danish Minister for Development Cooperation & Global Climate Policy Dan Jorgensen has termed the Denmark-Pakistan agreement in Pakistan’s gradual transition from fossil fuels to renewables extremely important to fight climate change. Last year’s floods in the country and prevailing precarious climate conditions serve a grim reminder that the sooner we act, the better it is, he said. The Danish minister expressed these views while addressing a reception organized by Ambassador of Denmark JakobLinulf at his residence. The outgoing Deputy Head of Mission (DHM), Simon FasterkjarKjeldsen, Special Adviser Danish Energy Agency, Nadeem Nawaz, CEO Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) AkhtarIqbal, CEO of Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), DrAbidQaiyumSuleri, heads and representatives of different public and private sector agencies were also in attendance.
The reception known as ‘Denmark-Pakistan Green Engagement Reception’ led to extraordinary collaboration in presence of the visiting Danish Minister. He in fact witnessed signing of two projects: ‘Increasing Communities Resilience to Climate Change’ and ‘Unlocking pathways to support implementation of carbon markets in Pakistan.’
The first project was signed with AKF heralding a new era of resilience in the north of Pakistan. According to the agreement, over the next two years, a groundbreaking project will be implemented, encompassing a range of innovative measures designed to enhance disaster response, strengthen infrastructure, and promote sustainable practices.
This transformative initiative will witness the formation of community-based disaster risk response teams and committees, ensuring that local communities are equipped with the necessary tools and knowledge to effectively respond to emergencies. AKF’s Hafiz Sher Ali and Ambassador JakobLinulf signed the document.
The second project was signed with the SDPI. The project aims to steer the discourse around carbon trading and carbon markets in Pakistan by addressing knowledge gaps and fostering capacities to achieve maximum benefits from this mechanism. While carbon markets present an enormous opportunity for Pakistan to mitigate its emissions, meet its NDCs and generate revenue, their development and utilization has not been effective. Denmark presents a remarkable model in effective implementation of carbon trading in various sectors including agriculture, and transport electrification, further aims to introduce carbon taxes for sectors like the corporate sector. Denmark can offer Pakistan effective best practices and knowledge to transform the country’s carbon trading sectors.
DrAbidSuleri termed the agreement a milestone in reducing the carbon footprint in the country. The SDPI, he said, looked forward to the capacity building of the officials from both the public and the private sectors with support of the Danish embassy. Earlier, Minister Jorgensen participated in a momentous tree plantation event at Margalla hills in Islamabad to reinforce Denmark’s commitment to engaging youth in the climate agenda and supporting Pakistan’s initiative to plant 10 billion trees. The event was attended by passionate young climate activists from Pakistan.
