A way forward towards diplomacy
LAHORE
The challenges posed by the climate crisis are enormous. In these extreme challenges, I found hope in Sweden when I attended the Stockholm+50 conference this year. In Stockholm, I saw a transparent sky that connects with land in the most aesthetic and romantic way. From drinkable tap water to clean air, Stockholm has attracted millions of young tourists every year. Clean tap water and a healthy natural environment are central indicators of today’s climate diplomacy. This is a hope where we can start our collective fight to face the challenges of climate change.
Today, climate change is defining global challenges, and the global south is at a defining moment. From shifting weather patterns and rising sea levels to threatened food production and increased catastrophic flooding, the scope and scale of climate change’s impacts are unprecedented.
The consequences not only threaten people’s livelihoods and impair development, but raise important geopolitical issues that touch the heart of international politics, sovereignty, territorial integrity and access to resources such as water, food and energy.
The climate crisis has the potential to cause significant and highly uncertain impacts on societies, undermine human security and increase the risks of conflict and instability. Addressing them requires a strategic and coordinated response at the global level. This is where climate diplomacy comes in.
Developing countries, commonly known as the Global South, have increased the depth and breadth of their cooperation in climate diplomacy based on solidarity, shared values and common needs and interests through South-South Cooperation (SSC). Several milestones, such as the historic Bandung Conference in 1955, the formulation of the Group of 77 and the Buenos Aires Plan of Action to Promote and Implement Technological Cooperation among Developing Countries (BAPA) adopted in 1978. Since 1994, the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South – COMSATS_ an intergovernmental international organization with 27 member countries works in the field of socio-economic and technological development to meet the challenges of sustainable development including the climate crisis in the global south with scientific cooperation between different international organizations.
In fact, over the next century the Earth’s temperature is expected to increase by at least 2 degrees Celsius. This year’s extreme weather conditions, especially in Pakistan, is actually a “wake-up call” about issues such as food security, extreme weather, economic upheaval and other risks from climate change that could affect countries worldwide. According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021 list of countries, Pakistan is at the top of the Global South on the scale of vulnerability to climate change. It has been ranked 8th as the most vulnerable country to the catastrophic effects of climate change. In nearly 20 years—from 2000 to 2019—the nation experienced 173 extreme weather-related loss events, which cost the economy $3.8 billion.
While Pakistan is on the front lines of a global climate emergency, there are other nations leading the charge in combating this emergency. As an environmental pioneer,
Sweden has always been proud to be at the forefront of issues such as climate justice, gender equality and international aid. It has contributed the highest amount of international aid per capita, was the first nation to pass an environmental protection law, and also the first nation to implement a feminist foreign policy. The nation has always looked outward, never inward. Since 1976, Sweden has significantly increased its economic output while reducing its carbon dioxide emissions and introducing stricter pollution controls. Sweden’s government has also set a number of ambitious sustainability goals, such as reducing the use of fossil fuels by the year 2045 and running the entire country with 100 percent renewable energy. In June, Sweden’s ambassador to Pakistan, HenrikPersson, while addressing the audience at Sweden Day, held in collaboration with prominent Swedish companies.
Engr. Qaiser Nawab
Currently serving at the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South – COMSATS, is a Pakistani climate youth leader, UN SDGs advocate and expert on youth development in the Global South. He can be reached at [email protected]