Government and businesses need to work in partnerships to address future disruptions caused by Climate Change: Sherry Rehman

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman said on Wednesday that government and Businesses need to work in partnerships to address future disruptions caused by Climate Change.

Speaking at the 6th edition of “The Future Summit”, Senator Sherry Rehman addressed business leaders and investors from across the country and abroad on the need for businesses and private companies to share the responsibility of developing an “axis of adaptation” against Climate Change.

Referencing the 2022 floods, the Federal Minister for Climate Change warned, “It is a postcard from the future, sent by nature. These disruptions will continue to happen. We have to learn to deal with them.”

The minister emphasized that climate change requires difficult choices and attitudinal change not just from the government but also businesses. “There exists a cognitive disconnect amongst educated, empowered elites”, Senator Sherry Rehman asserted. There is a need for introspection in the private sector as to why there is a resistance to policies that are the need of the hour. Knowing fully well that energy saving, for example, is essential to come out of the cycle of rent seeking, why have our businesses resisted power adjustments and cuts on operating hours.

Federal Minister Sherry Rehman asserted that we cannot live with climate amnesia anymore. Climate Change poses a principle risk to our economy and it can no longer be excluded from development discourse. According to the World Bank, Pakistan needs $348bn to respond to climate, development challenges between 2023 and 2030. The time is nigh to build firewalls against incoming climate stresses.

“Climate adaptation is not done in a vacuum”, said Minister Rehman. It should come from the people – from their homes, their schools, their businesses. A case study is that of the use of plastic. The Indus is the second most plastic choked river in the world. People are ingesting microplastics everyday through consumption of fish which they are not aware of, and this is a crisis of our own creation through plastic pollution. 2021 saw the highest amount of plastic produced, of which a very small percentage is recycled.

The Minister further added that governments have to build the framework, which it has done, but the businesses have to take the lead in translating it to practical reality. “It is not governments that have led to climate toxicity, its businesses.”, she added. We as governments, communities and businesses need to be agile and take responsibility of the parts we have to play in coming out of this crisis. Businesses, especially, have to be more transparent and report their SDG compliance, and have to invest in sustainability. Sustainability is a viable investment

Minister Rehman concluded, highlighting the urgency of climate action that requires a coordinated and prompt response. “It is time governments spoke with businesses. We need to work in partnerships to come out of our collective climate amnesia and address future disruptions caused by climate change.” she stated.