Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman has said that COP27 must put people at the heart of its agenda.

Minister was speaking at the high-level Loss and Damage plenary, where she said that the Global South has high expectations for the creation and announcement of a Loss & Damage Facility from this COP. She said we are still committed to all the goals of this COP despite emitting less than 1% GHG globally, but we have expectations from the members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She said we articulated our concerns at every step, and as we come close to the finishing line, there is a concern that if we don’t see a window or a facility that indicates a commitment towards repairing loss and damages, then it is going to be the ‘other 1%’ that will suffer and fail their vulnerable populations.

The Minister held a meeting with the Turkish Minister for Environment, Murat Kurum. Kurum expressed condolences for the lives lost in the tragic flood in Pakistan and promised support in relief and reconstruction efforts. Minister Rehman thanked the Turkish counterpart and expressed her gratitude for the technical support Turkey has extended to Pakistan for disaster management and housing reconstruction. She also told her counterpart about Pakistan’s stance at COP27 and shared Pakistan position for an announcement of a Loss and Damage Finance facility.

The Minister also visited the European Union Pavilion on their invitation to meet with the delegation of EU Parliamentarians and share Pakistan’s concerns.

The Pakistan Pavilion also hosted ARUP, a global engineering company, which generated discussions on sustainable rebuilding for critical infrastructure lost through the floods this summer.

Source: Radio Pakistan