US says Pakistan needs to take ‘greater action’ for climate change

Climate activists hold placards as they take part in a demonstration in support of the environmental and climate protection movement ‘Fridays for Future’ in Islamabad on March 19, 2021. (AFP)

• Pakistan, US hold inaugural meeting of joining working group on climate and environment 
• Working group was set up in July following Pakistani climate chief’s meeting with John Kerry in London

ISLAMABAD: The United States said on Tuesday Pakistan needed to take “greater action” for climate change mitigation and adaptation, as Pakistan and the US held the inaugural meeting of a joint working group on climate and the environment.
The session was held on Monday and attended by the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Special Adviser on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam, and US officials.
“Noting that Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to the destructive effects of climate change, she emphasized that greater action for climate change mitigation and adaptation is important for Pakistan’s large and growing population,” US Chargé d’affaires Angela P. Aggeler was quoted as saying in a statement released by the US embassy.
She hailed over 50 years of US-Pakistan partnership and cooperation on energy and the environment, “which has facilitated more than $900 million in new investments in renewable energy, supported programs in water and climate-smart agriculture, and spurred the installation of air quality monitors across the country.”
The US-Pakistan working group was set up in July this year following Aslam’s meeting with US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry in London, where both were attending a Pre-COP26 Ministerial meeting from 25-26 July 2021.
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, scheduled to be held in the city of Glasgow from October 31 to November 12, 2021 under the presidency of the United Kingdom.