Islamabad: The National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) organised the first-ever Partnership for Climate Action (PCA-2023) conference in Pakistan from February 14 to 16, 2023. Themed around the topic “Science for Sustainability,” the conference was held in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), German Red Cross, Pakistan Red Crescent, International Federation of Red Cross, International Rescue Committee and Welt Hunger Hilfe.
The prime objective was to bring together and connect youth, academia, and other stakeholders to build meaningful partnerships toward addressing climate change challenges. The conference also provided an opportunity for NUST to showcase its climate-resilient technologies for potential deployment and commercialisation, and closely engage with stakeholders from the Government and Development Sector to accelerate progress toward a sustainable future.
In his welcome remarks, Dr. Rizwan Riaz, NUST Pro-Rector Research, Innovation & Commercialisation said that the university takes its social responsibility seriously and has aligned all its core functions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Most significantly, he maintained, NUST has been proactively engaged in developing innovative technologies and devices to address the challenges of climate change. He also highlighted the importance of Partnership for Climate Action – a platform to share best practices, collaborate on new initiatives, and leverage collective resources to drive progress. He added that the NUST Climate Action Plan is an important step towards making a real impact. The three-day event spanned climate action policy simulation, youth activity, expert panel discussions, conference, and exhibition, followed by the launch of the Climate Action Plan and MoU signing.