Glacial retreat reaches alarming levels endangering water system: minister
'Pakistan is home to over 7,000 glaciers, the largest concentration outside the polar regions, which are melting at an unprecedented pace. Over the past six decades, the rate of glacial retreat has reached alarming levels. Climate change is no longer a theoretical concern but a harsh and dangerous reality that poses a grave threat to the future of humanity.
The Indus River supports 90 percent of Pakistan's agricultural output, and the accelerated glacial melt threatens not only agriculture but also water security, energy generation, and food availability,' the minister said while addressing at a high-level event in Islamabad on climate change, titled 'Practical Action for Environmental Protection: Progress on Climate Change Direction in Pakistan' organised by Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARE) for South Asia on Tuesday.
He said that climate change is no longer a theoretical concern but a harsh and dangerous reality that poses a grave threat to the future of humanity.
Recalling the catastrophic floods of 2022, he said that Pakistan has already experienced the devastating effects of climate change, which have inflicted irreparable losses on human lives, the economy, agriculture, and vital infrastructure.
The minister pointed out that countries such as Pakistan, which have contributed least to global greenhouse gas emissions, are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. 'The annual provision of $100 billion for climate affected countries is not charity, it is a matter of climate justice,' he asserted.
He urged that the international community, especially the Global North, must now be held accountable.
'The world has long demanded 'do more' from the Global South; the time has come to demand that the Global North 'do more' for climate justice,' he said.
The minister further stated that developed nations must honour their commitments by providing the required financial, technical, and institutional support to climate-vulnerable countries so they can respond effectively to the unfolding crisis.
He noted that the present government has taken the challenge of climate change seriously and has made it a central pillar of Pakistan's national planning framework under the '5Es' (Export growth, Environmental sustainability, Energy security, Equity and Empowerment, and E-Pakistan) strategy.
Concluding his remarks, the minister called upon the international community to play an active and responsible role in ensuring climate justice and securing a sustainable and safer future for all.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Profit-taking grips bourse, KSE-100 drops over 1,400 points
After initial buying momentum, profit-taking gripped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), causing the benchmark KSE-100 to settle with a loss of over 1,400 points on Tuesday. The market kicked off trading on a positive note, pushing the KSE-100 Index to an intra-day high of 140,331.01. However, profit-taking was observed in the final hours of trading, dragging the benchmark to an intra-day low of 137,636.37. At close, the benchmark index settled at 137,964.81 level, a decrease of 1,415.24 points or 1.02%. In a key development, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb left for his second visit to the United States in two weeks to finalise a trade deal with Washington, his office said late on Monday. The trip comes after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the U.S. and Pakistan were 'very close' to a trade deal that could come within days. 'A final discussion on the Pakistan-US trade dialogue will take place during the visit,' the finance ministry said in a statement, adding that a trade agreement will benefit both countries. On Monday, PSX saw modest upward momentum, fueled by investor interest in cement and technology stocks ahead of the monetary policy announcement and key corporate earnings. The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 172.77 points, or 0.12%, to close at 139,380.06 points Internationally, Asia shares eased on Tuesday while the euro nursed its losses as investors pondered the downside of the US-EU trade deal and the reality that punishing tariffs were here to stay, with unwelcome implications for growth and inflation. The initial relief over Europe's 15% levy quickly soured when set against the 1% to 2% that stood before President Donald Trump took office. Leaders in France and Germany lamented the outcome as a drag on growth, pulling down stocks and bond yields across the continent while slugging the single currency. Trump also flagged a 'world tariff' rate of 15% to 20% on all trading partners that were not negotiating a deal, among the highest rates since the Great Depression of the 1930s. A further risk to world growth came from a sudden spike in oil prices after Trump threatened a new deadline of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions on oil exports. The air of caution saw MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slip 0.7%. Japan's Nikkei eased 0.8% while Chinese blue chips fell 0.1%. This is an intra-day update
Business Recorder
6 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Profit-taking grips bourse, KSE-100 shed nearly 1,200 points
After initial buying momentum, profit-taking gripped the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), causing the benchmark KSE-100 to shed nearly 1,200 points during intraday trading on Tuesday. At 3:15pm, the benchmark index was hovering at 138,189.33 level, a decrease of 1,190.72 points or 0.85%. In a key development, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb left for his second visit to the United States in two weeks to finalise a trade deal with Washington, his office said late on Monday. The trip comes after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the U.S. and Pakistan were 'very close' to a trade deal that could come within days. 'A final discussion on the Pakistan-US trade dialogue will take place during the visit,' the finance ministry said in a statement, adding that a trade agreement will benefit both countries. On Monday, PSX saw modest upward momentum, fueled by investor interest in cement and technology stocks ahead of the monetary policy announcement and key corporate earnings. The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 172.77 points, or 0.12%, to close at 139,380.06 points Internationally, Asia shares eased on Tuesday while the euro nursed its losses as investors pondered the downside of the US-EU trade deal and the reality that punishing tariffs were here to stay, with unwelcome implications for growth and inflation. The initial relief over Europe's 15% levy quickly soured when set against the 1% to 2% that stood before President Donald Trump took office. Leaders in France and Germany lamented the outcome as a drag on growth, pulling down stocks and bond yields across the continent while slugging the single currency. Trump also flagged a 'world tariff' rate of 15% to 20% on all trading partners that were not negotiating a deal, among the highest rates since the Great Depression of the 1930s. A further risk to world growth came from a sudden spike in oil prices after Trump threatened a new deadline of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions on oil exports. The air of caution saw MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slip 0.7%. Japan's Nikkei eased 0.8% while Chinese blue chips fell 0.1%. This is an intra-day update
Express Tribune
9 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Finance minister heads to US to finalise trade deal
Listen to article Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has left for his second visit to the United States in two weeks to finalise a trade deal with Washington, his office said late on Monday. The trip comes after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that the US and Pakistan were "very close" to a trade deal that could come within days, but comments from the US after Dar met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned no timeline. Read: Dar, Rubio discuss trade tariffs in phone call "A final discussion on the Pakistan-US trade dialogue will take place during the visit," Pakistan's Finance Ministry said in a statement, adding that a trade agreement will benefit both countries. Aurangzeb said he held "productive trade talks" in meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer during his previous visit on July 18. The negotiations, focused on reciprocal tariffs, are part of a broader push to reset economic ties at a time of shifting geopolitical alignments and Islamabad's efforts to avoid steep US duties on exports. Pakistan faces a 29% tariff on exports to the US under President Donald Trump's measures to target countries with large trade surpluses with Washington. Pakistan's surplus was around $3 billion in 2024. Read more: Dar's US visit sets stage for stronger trade ties To offset the imbalance and ease tariff pressures, Islamabad has offered to import more US goods, including crude oil, and to open up investment opportunities through concessions for US firms in Pakistan's mining sector. US-Pakistan relations enjoyed a major boost when Trump hosted Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last month for an unprecedented meeting. Pakistan aims to expand bilateral trade relations into both traditional and non-traditional sectors, the finance ministry said. There is significant potential for partnerships in key sectors such as information technology, minerals, and agriculture, it added.
