PRCS highlights locally led climate adaptation at COP29

Islamabad : Chairman Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), Sardar Shahid Ahmed Laghari, addressed a distinguished forum at a special event hosted in the Pakistan Pavilion during the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The event, ‘Empowering Communities: The Case for Locally Led Adaptation in Climate Resilience,’ emphasised the urgent need for collective action against climate change to mitigate the impacts of disasters, says a press release. The event saw the participation of prominent figures including Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, representatives from the German Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), National Societies, and other key humanitarian stakeholders.

A thought-provoking panel discussion featured distinguished speakers including Member Managing Board Jamaican Red Cross Audrey Mullings, Ninni Ikkala Nyman and Manzoor Ali from IFRC, Head of Delegation German Red Cross in Pakistan Asif Aman and PRCS Deputy Director Climate Change Sajjad Ali, focused on the significance of locally driven adaptation strategies. Chairman PRCS Sardar Shahid Ahmed Laghari was the keynote speaker of this exclusive session.

In his remarks, Chairman Sardar Shahid Ahmed Laghari underscored PRCS’s extensive humanitarian work in Pakistan, especially during the 2022 monsoon floods. He detailed the organization’s ongoing recovery programs and proactive measures to tackle climate challenges, reaffirming PRCS’s dedication to easing the hardships of vulnerable communities.

He emphasized the critical role of community-led adaptation, advocating for building local capacities and learning from grassroots experiences to enhance disaster response and recovery. Highlighting Gilgit-Baltistan as a case in point, he addressed the threats posed by glacier melting and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) in the region.