Recently, Digital Media Wing Pakistan held a special interactive session with Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam. Representatives of Pakistan’s leading media platforms also attended the session.
During the session, SAPM Malik Amin gave an overview of the initiatives launched by the government in a bid to combat climate change. Despite contributing less than 1% to carbon emissions, Pakistan remains one of the top ten countries heavily impacted by climate change. Therefore, the Ministry of Climate Change took special measures. As a result, Pakistan garnered immense praise from the international community.
Read more: Boris tells world to follow PM Khan’s example for tackling climate change
The SAPM also talked about Pakistan’s remarkable green diplomacy. Owing to PM Khan’s strong climate vision and successful efforts against climate change, Pakistan became a climate leader. At COP 21, United Nations (UN) named Pakistan as one of the three Forestry Champions. In addition to this, UK also named Pakistan as one of the four Leaders of Nature.
“Green diplomacy opened many doors for Pakistan,” SAPM Malik Amin said. Regarding this, he re-called how Pakistan was the only non-Arab country invited to the launching ceremony of Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Green Initiative (MGI).
Read more: PM accepts Saudi crown prince’s invite to attend Mideast Green Initiative summit
Catch the full Episode of #DMWInteractiveSession with SAPM Malik Amin Aslam (@aminattock ) by clicking the following link,https://t.co/lDljXKTKyp
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(@BakhtawarMah @Paktv24 @NayaPakistan143 @UrduPointEng @MaleehaHashmey @hinachoudhry17 @MinhasNajma)
🌳pic.twitter.com/FJQNTZzOtR— Ministry of Climate Change & EC Govt of Pakistan (@ClimateChangePK) December 25, 2021
Dealing with the challenges
During the Q&A session, the SAPM addressed the challenges facing Pakistan and the government’s solutions for them. Talking about Lahore’s smog situation, the SAPM noted that as a result of a decade of industrial development, greenery in Lahore was minimized. However, the government launched the world’s largest Miyawaki forest in Lahore.
Under the PTI Climate Vision, the government aimed to use at least 60% clean energy. Since the transport sector is a major contributor to pollution, the government introduced the country’s first Electric Vehicle Policy and launched major public transports for example the Orange Line and the Green Line. However, the SAPM stated that it will take time for the public to completely shift to such modes of transport.
Read more: PM Khan to kick start monsoon plantation in Lasbela today
While updating on the progress of the internationally acclaimed Tsunami Trees, SAPM Malik revealed that the government managed to plant 2.5 billion trees. Independent organizations verified the number. Moreover, Pakistan is the only country in the world where mangroves continue to grow. Interestingly, SAPM Malik said that the World Bank valued Pakistan’s mangrove forests at $2.5billion. Therefore the government is now looking into ways to monetize the forests.