Sherry Rehman terms youth’s role critical in spreading climate awareness
Zubair Qureshi
Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman on Tuesday urged the youth to become climate activists and play a leading role in spreading climate awareness among society besides keeping an eye on all such activities that are harmful or cause environmental degradation.
She was addressing as Chief Guest a youth dialogue on the ‘right to clean and healthy environment’ organized by Embassy of Sweden, United Nations Development Programme World Wildlife-Fund (WWF) Pakistan and Stockholm+50 Youth Task Force held at the residence of the Ambassador.
The dialogue engaged youth, multilateral organizations, civil society and policymakers to have a focused conversation on what such a right means in the local context.
Sherry Rehman while addressing the youth said Pakistan was among three most water-stressed countries in the world and climate-related challenges like heatwave, water scarcity and melting of glaciers were the overwhelming challenges that the country was facing. Pakistan is facing an existential challenge to its existence and her ministry was working on a number of initiatives to mitigate that challenge. “Man not woman-made activities” she stressed had endangered the lives of the people and it was the responsibility and role of the youth to take the bull by the horns and act as ‘climate policemen’ to stop and highlight any anti-climate activities.
Pakistan, she said, was the third most water-stressed country in the world and was among the 10 countries which were badly affected by climate change.
Ambassador of Sweden Henrik Persson welcomed the participants saying “Sweden is on the track to become the world’s first fossil-free welfare state, reaching net zero emissions by 2045. Stockholm+50 is an opportunity to consider what is going well, what can be improved and what we can do to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
Voices of youth need to be communicated to the leaders to drive action to achieve sustainable development. It is possible to create a better future if we act together. Sweden is open for collaboration,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Knut Ostby, Resident Representative, UNDP Pakistan said, ‘Pakistan is the 5th most populous and one of the youngest countries in the world. Currently, 68pc of Pakistanis are below the age of 30, and 27pc are aged between 15 and 29.
The current moment presents an opportunity for young Pakistanis to drive transformative changes on ground and be ambassadors of climate action. Through increased cooperation and dialogue, the youth can help strengthen the ability of businesses and governments to deal with impacts of climate change. The youth now have the chance to advocate for a resilient and greener economy that will lead to prosperity, new jobs, and a healthier planet.’
Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General WWF-Pakistan, stated “As the largest conservation organization in Pakistan, WWF-Pakistan has been working to foster young people’s connection with nature. Last year alone, we engaged with over 14,000 youth through various initiatives.
At WWF, we believe that youth are both advocates and catalysts of change and thus, an essential part of decision making. Therefore, we are working with partners to not only develop young people’s knowledge about sustainable development, but also connect them to experts, businesses and government, and elevate their voices to appropriate platforms.”
