BEIJING, Oct. 29 (APP):Secretary-General of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF), Dr Zhou Jinfeng has said that it is important to financially support Pakistan in tackling the floods, and technology transfer and other supports are equally important to help them out in the long haul.
Pakistan is already facing a severe energy crisis ahead of the monsoon rain in June. The heavy rains have triggered unprecedented floods that have left a third of the country inundated and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Although Pakistan accounts for less than 1% of global carbon emissions, it is among the 10 countries most affected by climate change. “We need to get involved. We need to be accountable,” Zhou told CEN, adding that everyone on this planet was responsible for Pakistan’s climate crisis, especially the developed countries.
The floods in Pakistan have brought home the urgency of tackling climate change. Earlier this month, the UN launched the revised flash appeal for aid for Pakistan from the initial $160 million to $816 million, to respond to the growing lifesaving needs of the people affected. As the damage caused by floods pointed to the urgent need for long-term help lasting into next year. Experts also said people in flood-hit areas would face a harsh winter this year.
“To help developing countries cope with climate change, in addition to short-term financial and material assistance, promoting the application of green technologies is of long-term significance,” Dr. Zhou Jinfeng stressed.
To tackle this, CBCGDF has joined hands with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to launch programmes to boost the development of green technologies in Pakistan’s energy sector and agricultural production system in arid and semi-arid regions of the country.
“Technologies are critical to our response to the climate issues in Pakistan,” Dr. Zhou Jinfeng pinpointed, adding that together with the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences and other institutes, they worked out Report of Monitoring and Assessment of Desert Locust in Africa and Asia to focus on the dynamics of desert locust monitoring and loss assessment in Yemen, Ethiopia, and Pakistan.
Moreover, CBCGDF teamed up to work with the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources to help the people of Pakistan cope with climate change and rebuild their homes after disasters.
“What I believe is that ‘we are born equal of carbon: carbon rights and carbon responsibilities’. Everyone has to change, or such crises will follow,” he further said.
Pakistan said on October 19 that the World Bank estimates this summer’s record-breaking floods had caused $40 billion in damage to this impoverished South Asian nation. The figure is $10 billion more than an earlier estimate by the Pakistani government.
