Belem COP30 takes a hopeful step towards Justice, but does not go far enough

Sun, 23 Nov 2025, 10:02 AM

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 23 (APP): In a pivotal outcome at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, countries agreed on a sweeping package to scale up climate finance and accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement – but without a clear commitment to move away from fossil fuels.

The final decision emphasizes solidarity and investment, setting ambitious financial targets while leaving energy transition language off the table. The burning of fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases that are by far the largest contributors to global warming, making this omission a point of concern for many nations, including negotiators from South America and the EU, as well as civil society groups.

Meanwhile, the Climate Action Network International (CAN) welcomed the adoption of the Just Transition mechanism as one of the strongest rights-based outcomes in the history of the UN climate negotiations, but warned that COP30 produced weak outcomes in the very areas that are critical to ensuring justice for vulnerable and frontline communities.

This was the first COP held in the Amazon and the first since the UN warned that the record increase in greenhouse gas levels means it will be “virtually impossible” to limit global warming to 1.5 °C in the next few years without temporarily overshooting the Paris Agreement target.

After two weeks of intense negotiations, the text calls for mobilizing at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 for climate action, alongside tripling adaptation finance and operationalizing the loss and damage fund agreed at COP28.

It also launches two major initiatives – the Global Implementation Accelerator and the Belem Mission to 1.5°C – to help countries deliver on their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and adaptation plans.

For the first time, the decision acknowledges the need to tackle climate disinformation, pledging to promote information integrity and counter narratives that undermine science-based action.

Last week, Brazil’s President, Luiz Insacio Lula da Silva, opened the summit declaring it would be known as “the COP of truth,” and this decision marks a significant step toward safeguarding public trust in climate policy – even as the absence of fossil fuel transition language underscores the political complexity of energy negotiations.

In the closing meeting, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago acknowledged what was left out of the deal:

“We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand,” he said, adding, “I know the youth civil society will demand us to do more to fight climate change. I want to reaffirm that I will try not to disappoint you during my presidency.”

Reflecting on President Lula’s call at the opening of COP30 for ambition, Mr. do Lago announced plans to create two roadmaps: one to halt and reverse deforestation; and another to transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner, mobilizing resources for these purposes in a “just and planned manner.”

The road to consensus at the latest Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as the annual COPs are formally known, was anything but smooth.

Earlier this week, Indigenous groups staged blockades demanding stronger protections for the Amazon, and late Thursday afternoon, a fire in the main conference hall disrupted talks during a critical phase. Negotiators worked through the night on Friday – to bridge gaps on finance and ambition, with Brazil’s presidency steering discussions toward a politically workable outcome focused on support and implementation of agreements from past COPs.

From the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a clear message to COP30: At the gateway of the Amazon, Parties reached an agreement that shows nations can still unite to confront challenges no country can solve alone.

The UN chief said that COP30 delivered progress, such as the launch of the Global Implementation Accelerator to close ambition gaps and reaffirmed the UAE Consensus, including a just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.

“But COPs are consensus-based – and in a period of geopolitical divides, consensus is ever harder to reach. I cannot pretend that COP30 has delivered everything that is needed.” Overshoot of 1.5°C is a stark warning: deep, rapid emission cuts and massive climate finance are essential. “COP30 is over, but the work is not,” he said.

The UN Secretary-General vowed to keep pushing for higher ambition and solidarity, urging all who marched, negotiated and mobilized: “Do not give up. History – and the United Nations – are on your side.

Polling begins in NA-185 by-election

Ali Ali

Sun, 23 Nov 2025, 9:52 AM

DG KHAN, Nov 23 (APP):The polling for by-election in NA-185 began here on Sunday amid tight security arrangements.

Eight candidates are in the race, but a tough contest is expected between PPP Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa and PML-N Sardar Mehmood Qadir Khan Leghari.

A total of 226 polling stations with 860 booths have been set up, including 434 male and 426 female booths. The constituency has 418,310 registered voters, comprising 222,392 men and 195,918 women.

According to the district administration, 4 polling stations have been declared highly sensitive, 53 sensitive, and 169 normal due to security concerns.

More than 3,000 police personnel have been deployed across the constituency, including Punjab Police, Elite Force, Lady Police, reserve platoons, RMP Force and others. Dolphin and Muhafiz squads are patrolling and rapid response duties.

To further strengthen security, contingents of the Pakistan Army and Punjab Rangers are also present as Quick Response Force. Security monitoring has been enhanced through Safe City DG Khan, where a modern control room has been established for live surveillance of polling stations, sensitive points, entry and exit routes, and patrol movements.

Polling started at 8:00 am which will continue uninterrupted until 5:00 pm.

Polling for by-election starts

Ali Ali

Sun, 23 Nov 2025, 9:47 AM

FAISALABAD, Nov 23 (APP):The polling for by-election in five constituencies of Faisalabad district including NA-96 (Faisalabad-II), NA-104 (Faisalabad-X), PP-98 (Faisalabad-I), PP-115 (Faisalabad-XVIII) and PP-116 (Faisalabad-XIX) has started here on Sunday.

A spokesman for the Election Commission said that 16 candidates including PML-N backed candidate Muhammad Bilal Badar are contesting by-election in NA-96, whereas five candidates including PML-N nominee Raja Daniyal Ahmed are in the run for NA-104 seat.

Similarly, 10 candidates including PML-N candidate Azad Ali Tabassum are contesting by-election in PP-98 while five candidates including PML-N nominee Muhammad Tahir Pervaiz are contesting election in PP-115 and 7 candidates including PML-N Rana Ahmed Shehryar Khan are vying for PP-116 seat.

Pakistan strengthened global digital connectivity with deployment of SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable system

Zaka Ullah Ch

Sat, 22 Nov 2025, 11:11 PM

ISLAMABAD, Nov 22 (APP):Pakistan has strengthened its global digital connectivity with the deployment of the SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable system, a 19,200-km high-capacity fibre network linking Pakistan to countries between Singapore and France.

Offering more than 100 Tbps of total capacity, SEA-ME-WE 6 will provide one of the lowest-latency routes between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe, according to a news release of the ministry of IT.

The consortium includes Transworld Associates (Pakistan), Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Bharti Airtel, Dhiraagu, Djibouti Telecom, Mobily, Orange, Singtel, Sri Lanka Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Telekom Malaysia, and Telin.

SEA-ME-WE 6 features more fibre pairs and more than double the capacity of previous SEA-ME-WE systems, enhancing resilience and diversification across high-traffic Asia-Europe routes through trans-Egypt geo-diversified crossings and landing points.

The system enables rapid scalability, improved fault protection, and lower total network ownership costs for participating service providers, while adding an essential new redundancy layer to the global internet backbone.

Under this deployment, Pakistan has been allocated a total of 13.2 Tbps, with 4 Tbps being activated immediately—expanding the country’s international bandwidth capacity and enhancing support for cloud services, data centres, fintech, e-commerce, streaming, and the broader digital economy.

Thai envoy calls on Governor Punjab

Zaka Ullah Ch

Sat, 22 Nov 2025, 11:07 PM

LAHORE, Nov 22 (APP):The Ambassador of Kingdom of Thailand to Pakistan Rongvudhi Virabutr called on Governor Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider Khan and discussed boosting bilateral ties during a meeting at the Governor’s House here on Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider Khan said that Pakistan

and Thailand enjoy close and cordial relations. He said that the bilateral relations between the two countries are valued. He said that there are historical monuments of Buddha in Taxila in Punjab.

The Governor of Punjab said that there are vast possibilities to promote relations between the two countries in the field of religious tourism.

He said that the tree planted on the occasion of the visit of the King of Thailand to Lahore is present in the Governor House.

Governor Punjab said that there are vast opportunities to promote bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including tourism in Pakistan. The Governor of Punjab said that Pakistan wants good relations with all countries, including its neighboring countries.

Ambassador Rongvudhi Virabutr said that Lahore is a city with a historical and beautiful culture.

He reiterated his commitment to promote relations between Pakistan and Thailand in trade, culture and tourism.

The Thai envoy thanked the government for the proper care of the monuments of Buddha.

The Ambassador of Thailand and the delegation also visited historic Governor’s House.

NDU delegation calls on CM

Zaka Ullah Ch

Sat, 22 Nov 2025, 11:05 PM

LAHORE, Nov 22 (APP):Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met a delegation of participants of the 27th National Security Workshop of the National Defence University (NDU) here on Saturday and briefed them on her government’s various public welfare, governance and development initiatives.

The CM said that Punjab was moving ahead with a clear commitment to merit, transparency and service delivery. She welcomed the participants, responded to their questions and underlined that Pakistan stands proud of its defence and diplomatic achievements following the success of Operation Bunyan-um-Marsus.

The CM said her government had launched numerous welfare, infrastructure and service-improvement initiatives across Punjab, with many more in progress. She said inequitable resource distribution and lack of accountability weakened public-sector performance in the past, but her administration was working to correct structural deficiencies. She added that Punjab successfully saved millions of people and livestock during recent floods, while timely medical action prevented infectious outbreaks. She noted that Pakistan’s climate initiatives had been globally appreciated, as Punjab intensified smog-control measures through smog guns, crop residue management and zigzag kiln technology, supported by digital monitoring. She said cross-border crop burning continued to affect Lahore’s air quality, but overall improvement was visible.

CM Maryam Nawaz said meaningful governance required courage and timely decisions, not fear of reaction or loss of votes. She said her government took action against encroachments despite resistance, adding that strict adherence to merit remained Punjab’s guiding principle. No recruitment had been made on political grounds, she said.

She said women were serving for the first time as ministers, secretaries, commissioners, deputy commissioners and DPOs, reflecting Punjab’s commitment to inclusive governance.

The CM said the government’s policy of not purchasing wheat prevented middlemen from profiteering, and Punjab remained the only province where prices of wheat, flour and bread had not increased. She said inflation had fallen sharply from 40 per cent to 4 per cent, giving relief to low-income households. She noted that cooperation from the bureaucracy had strengthened governance, adding that work was underway on 1,650 roads spanning 30,000 kilometres, with billions saved through e-tendering. She said the government was expanding transport facilities, providing wheelchairs on all e-buses, and constructing a modern burn centre, orthopedic hospital and Pakistan’s first government cancer hospital, now nearing completion.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif said first-stage cancer was being treated effectively through ablation technology, while Punjab’s air ambulance service had saved dozens of lives by ensuring emergency transfers within the golden hour. She said 7,000 out of 15,000 planned pediatric heart surgeries had been completed under the Children’s Heart Card initiative, and a 1,000-bed cardiology hospital for children was under construction. She added that Punjab was moving towards mechanized agriculture, and 300,000 cattle had been added to promote livestock development. She said field visits, including to tandoors to check prices and quality of roti, were essential for firsthand assessment. She added that thermal imaging drone cameras helped rescue millions of people and animals during floods.

Discussing development plans, the CM said the Lahore Development Plan and Punjab Development Program would transform cities and villages. Punjab had launched the world’s largest mechanized waste management system, she said, adding that education remained the best route to equality and the government was providing home-based business opportunities for women. She said creating more provinces would further divide the country and emphasised that Punjab was the only province taking concrete steps for environmental protection.

She said Punjab was opening economic zones and industrial estates to investors, and “even free land” would be offered to attract investment. The Garment City Plug-and-Play project was ready for launch, she noted. She said Punjab currently had 2,400 MW of electricity and her aim was to lower the per-unit cost to Rs 16–17. Projects worth trillions of rupees continued without corruption allegations, she said, expressing hope that Punjab would be corruption-free in five years. She said political opponents resorted to personal attacks, but she would respond with performance, not rhetoric.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif said the government was working to make educational institutions drug-free. The head of the NDU delegation thanked the Chief Minister for the comprehensive briefing, while participants appreciated the Punjab government’s wide-ranging public welfare initiatives.