Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Senator Dr Musadik Malik, on Tuesday warned that the world is moving towards a dangerous new order marked by the \u201cweaponisation of water\u201d and growing injustice in global climate politics.
\nSpeaking at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute\u2019s (SDPI) 28th Sustainable Development Conference at the Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad, Dr Malik said the collapse of multilateral cooperation was pushing the world into an era of conflict and competition.
\n\u201cMultilateralism is dying,\u201d he told delegates. \u201cIt\u2019s landing its way to bilateralism, and now mostly to unilateralism. The new politics of the world is not moving towards cooperation. You are going to see more wars, more conflict, and more weaponisation.\u201d
\nThe minister warned that lower riparian countries \u2014 those located downstream on shared rivers \u2014 faced growing risks as powerful upstream nations sought control over water flows.
\n\u201cWater is becoming the next weapon,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce the precedent is set for upper riparian countries to control water, what will come next \u2014 the weaponisation of wind?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Malik also criticised what he described as hypocrisy in global climate finance, accusing major polluters of benefiting the most from green funding.
\nHe said that 40% of the world\u2019s carbon emissions were produced by just two countries, while ten nations accounted for 75% \u2014 yet the same ten received around 85% of global green financing.
\n\u201cCountries like Pakistan and Bangladesh emit less than one percent of global emissions,\u201d he said. \u201cThe countries that consume the environment don\u2019t pay the price.
\nThey should be charged for the oxygen they consume and the carbon dioxide and methane they emit. This is not justice \u2014 it\u2019s the industrial policy of big carbon emitters.\u201d
\nRecalling Pakistan\u2019s 2022 floods, which killed up to 2,000 people and displaced more than eight million, Dr Malik said the disaster underscored the human cost of climate change. Economic losses were estimated between $32bn and $40bn \u2014 about 15\u201318% of the country\u2019s GDP.
\nHe added that Pakistan ranked 167th out of 180 nations in progress towards the UN\u2019s Sustainable Development Goals, saying the country must \u201cfind sustainability in an era of global disorder.\u201d
\n\u201cThis conference is not about the past \u2014 it\u2019s about the future,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must speak the truth and stand up for climate justice.\u201d
\nThe SDPI\u2019s annual Sustainable Development Conference brings together international experts, academics and policymakers to discuss the challenges of achieving sustainable growth amid climate and geopolitical instability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Senator Dr Musadik Malik, on Tuesday warned that the world is moving towards a dangerous new order marked by the \u201cweaponisation of water\u201d and growing injustice in global climate politics. Speaking at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute\u2019s (SDPI) 28th Sustainable Development Conference at the Allama Iqbal Open […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512567,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-512565","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n