EU envoys cycle through the capital city. Documentary on climate change screened
Diplomats, mostly from European Union countries, environmentalists, and bicyclists of the Islamabad city cycled through the Islamabad city to mark the annual Climate Diplomacy Day this weekend.
The event was organized by the European Union and WWF-Pakistan to raise awareness of the harmful effects of greenhouse emissions by promoting eco-friendly modes of transportation.
The 10 kilometers cycling ride around D-Chowk to PNCA was led by the European Union’s (EU) Ambassador H.E. Jean-Francois Cautain, diplomats from Denmark and Sweden along with locals and representatives from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Pakistan) and the Ministry of Climate Change Secretary Syed Abu Akif.
Diplomats from European Union , wildlife conservationists and environment activists cycle in Islamabad,to raise awareness for climate change pic.twitter.com/Zwqk77Vk2C
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) September 25, 2017
The bicycle ride was followed by the screening of a documentary on climate change and poverty called ‘There will be water’. Imtiaz Abbasi from Dadu, Sindh, won the documentary competition in which students participated from various cities from across the country. Mr Abbasi’s documentary highlighted the devastating poverty due to drought-like situation in his district due to Climate Change.
Speaking at the event, EU Ambassador Jean-Francois Cautain said: “The EU remains committed to the Paris Agreement and its full implementation while progressing steadily with the finalization of the measures to reduce emissions by at least 40% by 2030”.
He added that by strengthening and widening its partnerships, the EU had progressively become the flag bearer in the fight against climate change.
Mr. Cautain maintained that “climate change requires collective action and the EU remains committed to continue working hand-in-hand with Pakistan, listed amongst the most vulnerable countries despite the low level of its global carbon emissions.”
Ambassador of Netherlands Ardi Stoios-bracken and Deputy Head of Mission Renate Pors joined the cycle ride, saying that Netherlands is committed to tackling climate issues on a global scale and actively participates in international negotiations and agreements.
Ambassador of Hungary Istvan Szabó and his wife Emilia participated at the Climate Change Diplomacy Day.
The Embassy of Sweden also joined the EU in Pakistan’s celebration of Climate Change Diplomacy day with a bike ride to raise awareness on climate change.
WWF-Pakistan Director General Hammad Naqi Khan highlighted the importance of promoting a common worldwide understanding of the need for action to mitigate climate change.
“No matter how people perceive climate change, the phenomenon is real. We are experiencing an array of environmental shifts, such as infrequent weather events, untimely glacial melt, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) and changes in animal and bird migration patterns, highlighting irrefutable linkages to climate change taking place in full effect,” Khan said.
On Climate Diplomacy day, conferences, exhibitions, films and social media activities are held to encourage informed debates and a joint response to the climate challenge. These events build on the momentum of the Paris Agreement – the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal agreed in Paris in December 2015.