Climate change conference: PM puzzled at cacophony over Pakistan not being invited

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday said he was puzzled at the cacophony over Pakistan not being invited to a conference on climate change.

In a series of tweets, Prime Minister wrote, “I am puzzled at the cacophony over Pak not being invited to a climate change conf! My govt's environment policies are driven solely by our commitment to our future generations of a clean & green Pakistan to mitigate the impact of climate change”.

The PM also referred to various government initiatives for making country green and clean. He tweeted, “Hence our initiatives of Green Pakistan, 10 billion-tree tsunami, nature-based solutions, cleaning up of our rivers, etc. We have gained vast experience in seven years, beginning with KP, and our policies are being recognised and lauded”.

The PM contended that Pakistan was ready to help any state wanting to learn from its experience. He also mentioned the priorities laid out for the UN Climate Change Conference 2021.

“I have already laid out priorities for the UN Climate Change Conference 2021-COP, if the international community is serious about countering impact of climate change,” the PM emphasised.

PM Imran Khan’s statement comes on the heels of reports that the US climate envoy, John Kerry, would travel to Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, and Dhaka from April 1 to 9 in an effort to narrow differences on climate change goals to slow global warming, but his schedule did not mention talks with the leadership of Pakistan, being one of the most vulnerable countries with reference to climate change.

The US is holding a summit on climate change on April 22-23 and has invited various world leaders, in fact 40 heads of governments and states. However, Pakistan has not been invited to the moot, triggering a sharp reaction from the public, the government officials and opposition parties here; even this was dubbed as a snub to the PTI-led government.