Launching of Climate Finance Accelerator Programme
Zubair Qureshi
Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman Friday said unfortunately, the world had failed to assess the damage done through decades of carbon-rich lifestyle.
“This century’s challenge is understanding how climate change is accelerating and connecting the dots between ambition and action and in such pivotal times, we need to stop satisfying our project-based workings with small pilot projects that provide ministries and development agencies with the cover of productivity,” said the Minister in her keynote address at the launch of the Climate Finance Accelerator programme by DAI Pakistan.
The event was organized to provide a platform for discussing the future roadmap for the programme. Sherry Rehman reiterated the urgent need for equitable and just climate financing to address the current climate crisis.
Highlighting the climate catastrophe that Pakistan is experiencing, the Federal Minister said, “Climate change is a poster child for knowing no borders or timelines. Burning fossil fuels in one country impact a whole chain of small emitters nearer the equator in ways that multiply disaster outcomes for the vulnerable.
There have been so many tragic monsoon casualties this month alone in Pakistan, and the weather cannot be in anyone’s control; only our responses can be optimized better.
The world, particularly South Asia, is experiencing unprecedented climate events, with Europe and the US experiencing extreme temperatures. However, those are still ten degrees less than what we have been enduring here. In terms of global collective action, though, we are all moving at glacial speeds even with the crisis knocking at our doors. There is a commitment gap for all societies and a huge fault line between commitments and their actualization. Pakistan alone needs $101 Billion for a smooth energy transition.”
The technical assistance programme responds directly to the urgency and scale of the climate crisis by supporting highly promising low carbon projects to become more appealing to investors, so that they can secure funding more readily.
The speakers said the CFA approach addressed the challenges involved in attracting climate finance to the places where it is most needed.
By bringing together project developers and financial experts who can develop and finance climate projects at scale, the CFA will support Pakistan’s efforts to implement its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) pledge under the Paris Agreement, deliver emissions reductions, and raise its overall climate ambition.
