Breathe Pakistan: Envoy notes melting glaciers ‘shared vulnerability’ for countries like Nepal, Pakistan

The second day of the second edition of the Breathe Pakistan International Climate Change Conference, organised by Dawn Media, is currently underway in Islamabad. Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, Pakistan remains among the most climate-vulnerable nations, underscoring the critical need for coordinated, locally grounded, and globally informed responses. The two-day conference is bringing together policymakers, experts, and stakeholders from across sectors to examine intersecting challenges and chart a path forward. On the first day, federal ministers, government officials, business leaders, and agriculture and water experts were among the various speakers who presented their perspectives on tackling the climate crisis. View the full agenda here. 11:20am — Environmental protection, urbanisation not opposing forces: Marriyum Aurangzeb Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb spoke of Punjab’s actions on moving from “a vulnerable province to more of an environment, climate-resilience leadership”. Aurangzeb said she did not see environmental protection and urbanisation as opposing forces. She emphasised that Punjab had taken a “more of an ecosystem approach”, using a multisectoral lens. The minister mentioned the launch of public buses and the environment protection force as some of the steps to transition towards an environment-friendly urban city. 11:12am — Climate crisis demands solidarity: Maldives’ envoy to Pakistan The Maldives’ high commissioner called on the Global South to go beyond negotiations and focus on sharing knowledge, technical cooperation and capacity-building. “Climate crisis demands not only urgency, but solidarity,” he emphasised, affirming that the Maldives remained committed to working with Pakistan and the Global South on the issue. 11:09am — Maldives, Pakistan ‘stand on the frontline of climate vulnerability’ Mohamed Thoha, High Commissioner of the Maldives to Pakistan, speaks at the Breathe Pakistan conference. — White Star/T