LAHORE: Pakistan’s civil societies and leaders of social movements have announced launching climate justice march on Monday (tomorrow).
The march will start from Shimla Pahari and end at Aiwan-e-Iqbal. This was announced in a press conference at Lahore Press Club by Ahmed Rafay Alam, Farooq Tariq, Irfan Mufti, Hina Shahid, Saima Zia and others.
The speakers said COP26 in Glasgow this year has failed to address the challenges. The goal of $100bn annually for meeting climate challenges has not been met while Prime Minister Imran Khan, with all his pretense of concern for climate, did not attend the COP26 meeting.
The speakers said despite 19 countries pledging to stop fossil fuel-based projects, the bigger fossil fuel corporations are still engaged in leasing, mining and execution of coal and fossil fuel-based projects around the world. The agreements of these projects must be cancelled as soon as possible. Similarly, Pakistan also announced phase-out coal-based energy last year, but the projects with support of China are still going on, they said.
The speakers demanded halting coal and fossil-based energy solutions, citing that fossil-based energy is detrimental to environment as well as expensive. Gas and oil-based energy must be phased out with renewable energy systems, they said.
The speakers added that because of govt’s negligence in tackling environmental challenges, Pakistan’s second biggest city Lahore has been declared the most polluted city on earth. This makes the ruling PTI government’s claims of billion-tree Tsunami hollow.
The speakers alleged that pollution and climate change is a big challenge for Pakistan but the govt is only paying lip-service to these issues. It is important to immediately stop mega projects such as Ravi River Urban Development project to tackle the problem of pollution and climate change. Projects like these will add to pollution in Lahore, they added.
The speakers announced taking the climate movement in Pakistan forward.
“Climate Justice issue can’t be left to the political parties. It is important that climate movement is spreads every nook and corner of the country,” they said. On November 8, civil societies and leaders of social movement will present their agenda of climate justice, they said.