NA Speaker For Formulation Of National Discourse On Climate Change

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Sep, 2022 ) :Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Monday said that the formulation of national discourse on climate change was the obligation of intelligentsia and academia.

He further said that Pakistan was vulnerable to climate change even though it contributed less than 1 percent of global Greenhouse Gasses that warm our planet.

He expressed these views while addressing the inaugural session of the First International Conference on "Climate Resilient Agriculture for Sustainable Development & Food Security" organized by Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) in Islamabad.

While talking about the damages to life and property in the country caused by recent devastating torrential rains and floods, he said that the agricultural lands had submerged and all major crops and livestock had perished across the country.

The Speaker said the National Assembly of Pakistan was effectively highlighting challenges due to climate change through vibrant parliamentary democracy.

The Parliamentary Task Force on SDGs oversees progress on the climate-related goal of SDGs while Standing Committee on climate change also actively scrutinizes government climate action and environmental response, he added.

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf also called on the global community to take action to tackle the climate crisis and come forward to help Pakistan as it has been affected the most.

He further mentioned that the National Assembly of Pakistan in collaboration with the International Parliamentary Union (IPU ) is hosting a regional seminar that will focus on the ongoing climate catastrophe and this seminar will also draw the world's attention to the economic and human losses faced by our people, for which we are not even responsible.

While appreciating the efforts of the organizers for taking the initiative to hold a dialogue on the importance of introducing climate resilient agriculture in the country, the Speaker expressed hope that this conference would be fruitful for the formulation of a national discourse on agriculture and food security.

Prof. Dr. Sher Muhammad, Chairman Department of Agriculture Sciences, AIOU, expressed gratitude to Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for inaugurating the seminar.

He said that the common people in the country were suffering due to torrential rains and flash floods and it was the obligation of the international community to come forward and save the country from the scourge of devastation caused by climate change.