The Dean of the Faculty of Education of the University of Karachi organized a seminar on ‘Climate Change and Disability; a New Frontier’ on Wednesday at the KU’s SYM Professional Development Centre.
The chief guest Major General Nayyar Naseer said that climate change is a harsh reality, and disabilities among people can happen due to our actions and ignorance. This is so unfortunate that the world did not recognize the fundamental truths of climate change impacts, and as a result, around 1.3 billion people are living with disabilities around the globe.
He mentioned that the world has to call for action with a deep-rooted plan and move beyond acknowledging the intersection of climate change to focusing on durable and sustainable inclusive solutions, fostering resilience, and ensuring that no one is left behind in the urgent pursuit of a protected future.
Major General Nayyar Naseer observed that for too long, the discourse on climate change has often overlooked the specific vulnerabilities and the invaluable contributions of people with disabilities. Similarly, disability advocacy has sometimes operated in a separate sphere from environmental concerns.
He said that climate change can exacerbate existing inequalities faced by people with disabilities. “We will hear about the heightened risks during extreme weather events, the challenges in accessing information and resources, the disproportionate impacts on health and livelihoods, and the often overlooked mental health consequences.”
He hoped that this event would certainly bring together the policymakers, the researchers, the disability advocates, the environmental organizations, the practitioners, and individuals with disabilities to bridge, forge partnerships, and develop collective strategies for action, and emerge with a renewed commitment to inclusivity, a deeper understanding of the challenges and shared brilliance for a future where the rights and needs of people with disabilities are fully understood and integrated in to climate action.
Another speaker, Colonel retired Ali Nawaz Janjua, said that the issue of climate action should be addressed on a top priority basis. Ecosystem economics, rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and resource constraints profoundly affected everyone.
He mentioned that marginalized communities have more persons with disability. He added that we cannot ignore the facts, and everyone should accept the realities of climate change. According to him, this issue is more prominent for our country. Pakistan ranks fifth in terms of the most affected country by climate change.
He informed the audience that rivers are drying, glaciers are rapidly diffusing with a speed, and this is also disturbing the agricultural lands and products. The sea level is increasing and such matters call for an emergency action plan. He stressed that we should declare a climate change emergency in the country.
He said that people with disability often face serious problems during disasters due to mobility barriers, communication gaps, and inadequate infrastructure. KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi mentioned that the issue of climate change should be seriously discussed by the policymakers and whatever they planned, it must be implemented at the grassroots level.
He observed that we may frame very symbolic policies, very ideal policies, but at the ground level, we are at ground zero. We have to make a distinction between the developing nation and the developed nation. The developed nations have responded to the challenges of climate change, their response is far better.
“We tend to cry about limited resources, but for me, it is not about limited resources. It is about our commitments. I consider government to serve humanity, societal action, and collective actions.”
He said the major challenge for him is addressing the environmental issues of the country as well as economic affairs, and sustainability in policies. Prof Khalid Iraqi said that there is a need to have an organized study about persons with disabilities.
He asked scholars, students, and faculty members to find out and connect persons with disabilities who are willing and can contribute to society so that with their acts, others can be motivated and brought forward to solve their problems.