2nd climate moot: OICCI to unveil execution plan on Nov 1

KARACHI: The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) Thursday announced that it will organize its second Pakistan Climate Conference 2023 on November 1 to chalk out an execution plan to meet the environmental challenges practically.

The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) is hosting a multi-stakeholder dialog on the local and global climate challenges for the second consecutive year.

The conference is set to seek local and global experts’ views to help solve the country’s climate crisis to simmer down the negative effects of the varying weather on Pakistan with tangible actions.

The conference will propose efforts for preventing the recurrences of natural disasters like the devastating floods of 2022.

These floods ravaged the country, affecting at least 33 million people, displacing nearly eight million and killing 1,700 in its wake.

The climate conference will bring together the global climate experts, strategists and corporate decision-makers to share learning and the world’s successful practices to help Pakistan develop a policy.

“Pakistan suffered the devastating financial loss, exceeding $30 billion from the catastrophic floods In 2022,” President of OICCI, Amir Paracha told a news conference.

The continuing climate and environmental change pose a “dire” threat to the country’s economy, which will reduce Pakistan’s GDP by 18 percent to 20 percent by 2050 if proactive tactics were not employed, he warned.

“Pakistan has a considerable amount of work ahead of it to live up to its ambitious Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs),” Vice President of OICCI, Rehan Shaikh added.

He said that the conference aims to seek dialogues on several critical issues to help evolve plausible policies to ensure a durable climate-positive future of Pakistan.

“This year’s conference will build on insights from PCC 2022 and COP 27 to pinpoint the necessary actions to mitigate climate risks in Pakistan, which are also aligning with the COP 28 agenda,” Andrew Bailey, Managing Committee member of OICCI said.

The OICCI member companies have actively worked towards climate action in Pakistan having contributed Rs1.2 billion in 2022 alone.

Abdul Aleem, Secretary General of OICCI expressed the OICCI support to solve the climate issues through collective efforts and proposed public-private collaborations in this regard.

The country has the potential to harness its strengths, knowledge and assets to forge a robust and enduring future for Pakistan, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023