ISLAMABAD, Thursday, June 5, 2025 : On World Environment Day, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued urgent calls for collective action to combat environmental degradation and climate change, emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and international climate justice.<\/p>\n
In a message marking the day, President Zardari underscored the importance of national unity in building a cleaner, greener Pakistan. \u201cThis day reminds us of our shared responsibility to protect the planet and secure a sustainable future for generations to come,\u201d the President said, according to a statement issued by the Press Wing of the President\u2019s Secretariat.<\/p>\n
He warned that Pakistan remains among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, despite contributing less than 1% to global carbon emissions. \u201cWe face devastating floods, droughts, and heatwaves that displace millions every year. This imbalance highlights the urgent need for global climate justice and stronger international support,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n
President Zardari noted that, despite resource constraints, Pakistan is advancing critical environmental reforms through innovative financing and global cooperation. He cited several key initiatives, including the $1.4 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility from the IMF, which supports reforms such as a carbon levy, promotion of electric vehicles, and enhanced energy efficiency.<\/p>\n
He also highlighted the World Bank\u2019s Country Partnership Framework (2026\u20132035) \u2014 focusing on flood resilience, clean energy transition, sustainable agriculture, and improved air quality \u2014 as well as the 2024 Carbon Market Policy Guidelines, which aim to attract green private investment. These measures, he said, are all part of Pakistan\u2019s broader economic transformation blueprint, Uraan Pakistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo government can solve this crisis alone,\u201d President Zardari emphasized. \u201cEach of us \u2014 individuals, institutions, and organizations \u2014 has a role to play. Small, everyday actions like reducing single-use plastics, recycling waste, planting trees, and supporting green policies can make a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Separately, in his World Environment Day message, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described plastic pollution as a growing menace that threatens ecosystems, economies, and future generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year\u2019s theme \u2014 \u2018Putting an End to Plastic Pollution\u2019 \u2014 is both urgent and timely,\u201d he said. \u201cPlastic waste is choking our rivers and seas, harming marine life, and contaminating our food chain. Pakistan is not immune to this crisis. What we need now is bold, collective action.\u201d<\/p>\n
The prime minister reaffirmed his government\u2019s commitment to environmentally responsible policies, sustainable consumption, and stricter regulations on plastic use. \u201cReal change begins with each of us \u2014 in our homes, in our communities, and in our choices,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
PM Shehbaz added that World Environment Day should serve as a powerful reminder of the shared obligation to safeguard the Earth and ensure a better future for coming generations.<\/p>\n
Both leaders called for a national culture of environmental responsibility, with the president focusing on strategic climate resilience and the prime minister underscoring grassroots behavioral change. Their messages come amid intensifying climate risks in Pakistan and ahead of key global climate finance discussions later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, Thursday, June 5, 2025 : On World Environment Day, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued urgent calls for collective action to combat environmental degradation and climate change, emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and international climate justice. In a message marking the day, President Zardari underscored the importance of national […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[44,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-5329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-climate","8":"tag-latest","9":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thediplomat.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}