Sustainable
Development Policy Institute held a seminar on climate change and its various
dimensions in a global political economy. Researchers including, Masooma
Hassan, Sarosh Sikandar and Shakeel Ramay, provided perspectives and scope of
climate and development between governance and institutions and various cash
flows from multi-lateral and bi-lateral channels.

While
identifying the structural processes and global and national constrains that
inhibit climate change finance, with specific focus on arid and semi-arid
regions, researchers shed a light on some of the least researched ecological
zones.

According
to the technical knowledge from Pak metrological Dept and Global change
Impact center, climate change as a security threat is prevalent of weak
governance and highlighting and mobilizing adaptation and mitigation processes
is vital. Awareness of mal-adaptation is required and it must be taken into
account that power is played with in political actives.

It
was further added that while covering the Political economy, Macro analysis,
thematic analysis and problem driven analysis, the tag line is Think global and
act local.

Former
Minister for Environment Malik Amin Aslam, Dr. Rehana Siddiqui, PIDE and
Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel provided their candid opinions on Climate Change
governance issue.

Dr.
Amin Aslam Former Minister of State
for Environment, Presented on climate change and the complexities that
exist within it. According to him at the global and local level an intricate
web exists. The regional challenges due the population density in the region
being highest, the world makes it a volatile and vulnerable region. Although Pakistan
is low on the emission side yet it is one of the most affected regions by
climate change. There exists a patchy and inconsistent preparedness of disaster
management and institutional response, needed for local institutions to sync
with global mechanisms.

Ambassador
Shafqat Kakakhel, chairperson Board
of Governors, SDPI provided context and the relevance of climate change,
imperative to Pakistan with majority district located in arid and semi-arid
zones. PRISE aims to generate knowledge relevant and policy relevant, urging
institutional linkages and collaboration. Institutional assessment is necessary
to prevent the rapid decay in issues of climate change, capacity building is
necessary to national and provincial governments for addressing and rebuking
climate change skepticism. He further added that the decay of climate finance
is not isolated incident but is prevalent in all governance. Through
resolutions adopted by provinces calling for a robust mechanism to climate
change challenges, Inter provincial cooperation is mandatory.

According
to Dr. Rehana Siddiqui, Joint
Director PIDE, who highlighted the need to translate information into
action, institutional constraints have crippled the pace of reformative action.
Awareness must be brought to the issue, education on subject matter is
necessary for not just institutions and agencies but general public to better
understand what climate change is. This will help to mobilize adaptation and
mitigation measures. She also discussed about how to target all sectors of
climate change, to make them understand the adverse and over-arching issues of
climate change, as it is the people who will adapt. While confronting the
element of uncertainty, and improving knowledge to fill in such information
gaps and inconsistencies to prevent skepticism and exploitation, we need to
identify the role of institutions in the Green Revolution and capacity
building.