Climate Action Sustainable Development Goal achieved 10 years before 2030 deadline
He said govt has also started converting CPEC into China-Pakistan GREEN Economic Corridor project.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Ranked as the most climate-vulnerable country, Pakistan has crossed a crucial milestone by achieving an overarching Sustainable Development Goal – 13 ‘Climate Action’ much before the deadline, shows United Nations annual Sustainable Development Report 2020, launched recently.
The Sustainable Development Report (formerly the SDG Index & Dashboards) is an annual global assessment of countries’ progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is a complement to the official SDG indicators and the voluntary national reviews, said a press release.
“It is indeed a landmark achievement for the country to have achieved the crucial sustainable development goal 13 ‘Climate Action’ well 10 years before deadline of 2030 for the implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” Malik Amin Aslam, Advisor to Prime Minister on Climate Change, said.
“With achieving the Climate Action SDG 13, Pakistan has demonstrated itself a country seriously committed to global efforts aimed to tackle the challenge of climate change,” he maintained.
Pointing towards various measures taken by the present government and under the unwavering patronage of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Malik Amin Aslam said that adoption and implementation of different low carbon growth trajectory, mitigation and adaptation initiatives in fact paved the way for the country to achieve the UN’s Climate Action Goal 13 that too 10 years before expiry of the SDGs.
Spelling out details of the initiatives, Amin Aslam said that the some of the such leading initiatives taken by the present government include 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, Clean Green Pakistan Initiative, Clean Green Pakistan Index, Protected Areas Initiative, Eco-system Restoration Fund for facilitating the transition towards environmentally-resilient Pakistan by mainstreaming adaptation and mitigation through ecologically-targeted initiatives such as afforestation, biodiversity conservation, enhancing policy environment in consistent with the objectives of Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and attaining Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
Malik Amin said that the present PTI-led government has also started taking steps to convert China Pakistan Economic Corridor project into China Pakistan GREEN Economic Corridor project.
In this regard, 2,740 MW of imported coal projects signed by previous government have been shelved and replaced by zero carbon and indigenous Hydel projects of 3700 MW, he added.
“This shift alone shows the commitment of this government to climate friendly growth and sustainable development which is good for not only Pakistan but also beneficial for the world,” the prime minister’s advisor said.
Launched and adopted by all United States member countries in September 2015, the UN-led 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the roadmap to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
To be achieved by 2030, they aim to address the global challenges including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, health, education, water, sanitation, food security, peace and justice.
