Progress on climate change SDGs to make positive impact on other goals

Islamabad:Progress on one UN Sustainable Development Goals can both depend on and unlock progress on another – and interconnected goals require an interconnected approach, said prime minister’s adviser on climate change Malik Amin Aslam on Monday.

"The SDGs are not mere 17 individual goals and instead, they are rather interconnected targets for the all UN member states," he told a function held by the Ministry of Climate Change in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme a local hotel to mark the Pakistan meeting the Climate Action SDG 10 years ahead of the deadline.

Malik Amin said any effort meant to boost climate resilience against the negative impacts of the unfolding climate crisis would help create a positive impact on other SDGs. He said the government was making all-out measures to boost the country's climate resilience through various climate change adaptation and mitigation policy measures.

"We [government] are highly environmentally-sensitive and are aware of the negative impacts of climate change on the country's various socio-economic sectors, particularly water, energy, food, and health sectors, so we launched initiatives for afforestation, renewable energy, environmental protection, efficient water management initiatives, introduction of clean fuel, transformation of transport sector through introduction of electric vehicles, floodwater management and national parks' conservation to achieve environmental conservation and making these socio-economic sectors climate resilient," he said.

The premier's aide said it was a matter of great pride for the nation and a unprecedented achievement of the country to have met the crucial SDG 13 ‘Climate Action’ well 10 years before the 2030 deadline for the implementation of the 17 SDGs.

“With meeting the 'Climate Action' SDG 13, Pakistan has exhibited itself a country seriously committed to global efforts aimed to tackle the challenge of climate change,” he said. Launched and adopted by all UN member countries in September 2015, the UN-led 17 SDGs are the roadmap to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

To be achieved by 2030, they aim to address the global challenges including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, health, education, water, sanitation, food security, peace and justice. Being intrinsically inter-connected with all 16 of the other SDGs of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the SDG13 calls for urgent action by all UN member countries to combat climate change and its impacts to protect the life on planet earth from fallouts of the climate change.