ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) science body COMSTECH on Monday hosted the “Ethiopia–Pakistan Green Dialogue” in Islamabad, spotlighting reforestation and South-South cooperation on climate resilience.
The event, organized with Ethiopia’s embassy, featured Ethiopia’s flagship Green Legacy initiative, which Ambassador Dr. Jemal Beker Abdula described as “an international benchmark for combating climate change through mass tree plantation and sustainable practices,” COMSTECH said in a press release.
Ethiopia’s Green Legacy campaign, launched in 2019, has become a global model for reforestation and climate resilience. The initiative has already seen more than 25 billion trees planted, including a record 350 million in a single day, with a goal of 50 billion by 2030. Widely recognized by the UN and African Union, the drive has mobilized millions of citizens to restore degraded land, combat desertification, and build climate resilience in one of the world’s most drought-prone countries.
“Climate change is an urgent reality for Pakistan. Despite contributing less than one percent to global emissions, Pakistan is among the most climate-affected countries, facing floods, glacial melt, and droughts,” Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani, attending as chief guest, said in a statement.
He praised Ethiopia’s Green Legacy as “a global model of reforestation and sustainability,” and called for “practical collaboration through joint task forces, parliamentary exchanges, and research partnerships.”
Gilani also underlined Pakistan’s role in global climate diplomacy, “including championing the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27 and advancing climate finance at COP29.”
The fund, established in 2022 after Pakistan’s catastrophic floods, is meant to provide financial support to developing countries suffering from the irreversible impacts of climate change such as floods, droughts, and rising seas that go beyond what adaptation can address.
