ISLAMABAD: Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday met with the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit and other world leaders on the sidelines of the Climate Implementation Summit in Egypt.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP27, started on Sunday in the seaside resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, with delegates from nearly 200 countries agreeing to discuss compensating poor nations for mounting damage linked to global warming, placing the controversial topic on the agenda for the first time since climate talks began decades ago.
The Pakistani PM and his team, which includes climate change minister Sherry Rehman, aim to use the summit to get the world to commit to helping countries like Pakistan — hit by record rains and floods this year — deal with growing climate-related “loss and damage.”
Sharif was last month invited to co-chair COP27 by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah El-Sisi after the Pakistani PM ran an international campaign to raise awareness about climate change in the wake of floods that killed over 1,700 people, affected 33 million, and cost the South Asian nation more than $30 billion in damages.
Islamabad’s permanent mission in the UN said in a statement on Monday Pakistan welcomed the adoption of its proposal by the COP27 summit of a funding plan to help climate-affected countries cope with surging losses.
On Monday, Sharif held a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
“During the meeting with UAE President, Pakistani Prime Minister termed the commitment of COP 27 as a good omen to combat the effects of climate change,” a statement from the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
“Dealing with the effects of climate change is not for developing countries alone,” Sharif said, calling on the international community to come together to create a common charter for the survival of the planet.
Sharif welcomed the commitment of the international community, especially the Islamic world, to the goals and objectives of the COP27 conference. He thanked the UAE leadership and people for their generous assistance to the flood victims.
In a separate meeting with the Secretary General of the Arab League, both leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation to prevent the devastating effects of climate change.
Sharif also separately met with European Union (EU) Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen, as well as the presidents of Iraq, Tajikistan and Indonesia, and the prime minister of Lebanon.
“The deliberations by the world leaders will shape the future of our struggle against climate change,” Sharif said in a Twitter post.
“What we face today is the challenge of the century. We have a duty to leave a clean and green environment to our coming generations. At #COP27, we should vow to succeed at all costs,” he added.
Sharif will be addressing the main session at the summit and also meet UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
He will also attend the “Middle East Green Initiative Summit” hosted by Saudi Arabia and participate in an important round table, “Early Warning for All Executive Plans Launch.”
