ISLAMABAD
\nThe experts at a media training on Loss and Damage Fund and climate finance mechanisms Saturday called for expedited climate action with localisation of climate finance instruments, and enhanced community engagement in rolling out policy interventions to establish projects to benefit international funding facilities.
\nThe Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) organised a one-day journalist capacity development workshop on Climate Action at the launch of four thematic policy papers.
\nDeputy Executive Director, SDPI presentated a detailed account of the four thematic policy papers shedding light on climate finance, Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, capacity issues and institutional shortcomings and Pakistan\u2019s case on loss and damage fund reparations.
\nDr Shafqat Munir said climate action is a shared responsibility and demands a collective response from all as a whole of society approach. \u201cWe as humans needs to take stock of our carbon footprint that impacts the earth due to our actions and activities,\u201d he added.
\nHe explained that climate action is needed everywhere as Pakistan is the fifth highest livestock producer in the world that has made it among the biggest methane emitters.
\nCommenting on the research papers by SDPI, he said access to climate finance is difficult to access globally, whereas the best way is to provide a bankable project against our nationally determined contributions (NDCs) with a policy framework made on it.
\n\u201cWe need to club the three initiatives Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework (4RF), National Adaptation Plan and NDCs and develop a project on it to tap climate finance for targeted interventions,\u201d he added.
\nHe also noted recommendations stating engagement of climate investment funds (CIFs) and significant bilateral multilateral funds in addition to already engaged avenues, and alignment, coherence and synergy of existing policies at national and international level.
\nHe also underlined that the country had technical and human resource capacity issues, whereas transparency in utilisation of funds was a major priority area for international climate finance institutions that needs to be focussed by the government. The SDPI paper focused on community based disaster risk management engagement and the key sectors lacking proper actions.
\nHe said major challenges to institutional capacities are enforcement and evaluation in project implementation whereas public awareness and institutional coordination also needed due attention of the quarters concerned.
\nThere was a need to learn from the communities, he said, adding, \u201cbut institutions have disconnect with the community. However, it is the local government always leads internationally in disasters.\u201d
\nHe commented that the country was paying the price of in action whereas challenges to access loss and damage fund reparations for the country are limited finances, expertise, scientific data, and the fund\u2019s operationalisation concerns. He ended that despite all chalkenges the country will have to prepare for it.
\nShad Begum, founding director of the Association for Behavior and Knowledge Transformation (ABKT), an organization working towards the economic and political empowerment of communities in newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said the country\u2019s disaster management institutions failed to implement it\u2019s lessons learnt in the earthquake of 2005 in the next disasters like 2010 floods.
\nShe added that there was no engagement with local community leaders to devise strategies based on indigenous knowledge.
\nThe climate crisis is surging at an unprecedented rate and the stakeholders are confused to address it, she added. She said there was no productive engagement of the youth that resulted in frustration among the young population particularly of the newly merged districts of KP.
\n\u201cLocal led initiatives with indigenous approach should be promoted. We are connecting with elderly people to explore indigenous knowledge to have sustainable and inclusive interventions in agriculture projects and it should be followed in climate change related initiatives as well,\u201d Shaad Begum said.
\nThe members of the civil society and journalist fraternity engaged in a healthy working group sessions to explore the policy papers\u2019 recommendations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The experts at a media training on Loss and Damage Fund and climate finance mechanisms Saturday called for expedited climate action with localisation of climate finance instruments, and enhanced community engagement in rolling out policy interventions to establish projects to benefit international funding facilities. The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) organised a one-day journalist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-361713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n