KARACHI, Oct 9 (APP): Experts from various fields had stressed upon the need for inclusive and coordinated climate action at all policy levels at a two-day inter-disciplinary conference held here on Saturday.
The hybrid conference on the topic of “Climate Change: Threats, Risks and Vulnerabilities” was organized by the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the Institute of Business and Administration Karachi (IBA) in collaboration with Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Pakistan.
Executive Director IBA, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi welcomed the initiative saying that the conference, organized by the students of the Social Sciences and Liberal Arts Department at the IBA, would help apprise the participants about the climate crisis.
Addressing the impacts of climate change and the needs of a sustainable future was a complex issue which needed innovative solutions.
Dean of the School of Economics and Social Sciences at IBA Dr. Asma Hyder said climate change was the biggest threat and challenge for sustainable development. This youth-led conference provided a platform to understand and create awareness for this complex crisis.
Director CBER Dr. Laila Farooq said they were grateful to HSF for recognizing climate change as a non-traditional security threat. Climate change was not isolated from issues around gender, class, race and so much more, he commented.
Resident representative of HSF Pakistan Dr. Steffen Kudella on the occasion said Pakistan and Germany were both seriously threatened and vulnerable to Climate Change.
The temperature changed Pakistan’s ecosystem and affected economic and agricultural sectors including water supply and soil. Likewise, Climate Change was also changing Germany’s environment and future.
In fact, the effects of Climate Change – on people’s lives, on economies and ecosystems – could be seen everywhere in the world. For instance, NASA data showed that Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year, he added.
Climate Change was due to factors including rise of the average temperature of the Earth’s climate system and large-scale shifts in terms of weather.
These large-scale weather shifts were of great significance for peace and stability worldwide.
He added that the consequences of climate change would strongly influence our standards of living, food and water supply besides resource availability along with many other non-traditional security challenges.
Consul and Deputy Head of Mission at the German Consulate General Karachi, Brigit Kuhlmann, while sharing her views stressed for the need to have more such activities to raise awareness about the protection of the natural environment.
The two-day event brought together academics, artists, filmmakers and students from diverse fields to discuss multifaceted aspects of climate change including multi-species collaborative survival, urban planning and sustainable entrepreneurship. It featured panel discussions, documentary screenings, exhibits and study circles.
