US says ‘look forward’ to working with Pakistan as Kerry in India for climate talks

US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry speaks at a briefing on climate policy in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC on January 27, 2021. (AFP)

• US climate envoy Kerry left on Thursday to hold talks with leaders during an Asian tour that does not include Pakistan
• Pakistan has also been left off an April climate change summit in which US President Biden has invited 40 world leaders

ISLAMABAD: The State Department said on Thursday the United States looked forward to working with Pakistan, the day US climate envoy John Kerry left to hold talks with leaders during an Asian tour that does not include Pakistan.
Kerry will travel to Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, and Dhaka  from April 1-9, 2021, for consultations on increasing climate ambition. A visit to Pakistan, one of the 10 most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, is not on the agenda.
Pakistan has also been left off a Leaders Summit on Climate Change, to be held April 22-23, in which US President Joe Biden has invited 40 world leaders to talk about the urgency – and the economic benefits – of stronger climate action. It will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) this November in Glasgow.
“The United States seeks to engage all countries to explore areas for cooperation on addressing the climate crisis, including Pakistan,” a spokesperson for the State Department told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper when asked why Pakistan was being left out of climate talks. “The Leaders Summit on Climate is only one of several major climate-related events in the run-up to COP26, which will be a global event.”
“We look forward to working with the government of Pakistan and governments around the world to raise the level of global ambition to meet the climate challenge,” the official said.
Last week, the Pakistani foreign office spokesperson told reporters Islamabad was not invited to the White House summit because it was “one of the lowest emitters — with less than one percent of the global emissions.”
“The Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change hosted by President Biden reconvenes the US-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, which brings together leaders from countries responsible for approximately 80 percent of global emissions,” the spokesperson had said.