Imran ‘puzzled at cacophony’ over climate moot snub

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said he felt perplexed at the “cacophony” over Pakistan not being invited to Joe Biden’s climate moot later this month.

Pakistan’s exclusion from the ‘Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate’, which will be held on April 22-23, made the rounds on the news for the past few days, and Pakistanis questioned the reasons behind the snub on social media.

On his Twitter handle, the Prime Minister posted a number of tweets to express his views and highlighted his government’s initiatives on climate change and environmental protection.

The Prime Minister posted: “I am puzzled at the cacophony over Pak (Pakistan) not being invited to a climate change conf (Conference)! My govt’s environment policies are driven solely by our commitment to our future generations of a clean & green Pakistan to mitigate the impact of climate change.”

According to a statement of the White House, US President Biden had invited 40 world leaders to the summit on climate. The gathering brings together 17 countries “responsible for approximately 80 per cent of global emissions and global GDP” as well as “other countries that are demonstrating strong climate leadership, are especially vulnerable to climate impacts, or are charting innovative pathways to a net-zero economy”.

Pakistan was not included in the list of invitees despite the fact that the government of Pakistan has been spearheading a robust climate drive with major initiatives lauded by the UN and other global bodies, state media reported.

In his tweets, the Prime Minister cited some of his initiatives, including Green Pakistan, 10 Billion Tree Tsunami, nature based solutions and cleaning up rivers. “Hence our initiatives of Green Pak, 10 bn-tree tsunami, nature based solutions, cleaning up our rivers etc. We have gained vast experience in 7 yrs (years), beg (beginning) with KP, & our policies are being recognised & lauded,” he added.

The Prime Minister said that he had already laid out priorities for the UN Climate Change Conference 2021 — COP26 — if the international community was serious about countering impact of climate change.

The Prime Minister also expressed willingness to help any state wanting to learn from Pakistan’s experience. “We are ready to help any state wanting to learn from our experience,” he tweeted.