LAHORE: The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat— it is here, and it is escalating. From blistering heatwaves in Europe to deadly floods in Pakistan and wildfires in Canada, the planet is under siege. July 2024 was officially recorded as the hottest month in human history. Each passing year breaks the records of the last. This is not a statistical coincidence but a consequence of inaction, over consumption, and misplaced priorities, says Dr Saima Hashim, provincial coordinator of Pakistan Business Forum.
Dr Saima said despite decades of global conferences like the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP), emissions continue to rise, glaciers continue to melt, and communities—especially in the Global South—continue to suffer. While COPs have been instrumental in shaping the climate discourse, the yearly diplomatic exercises alone are insufficient to meet the scale and speed of the climate emergency.
The reasons for our collective failure to cope with the climate crisis are manifold. Many countries make ambitious pledges but fail to follow through, largely due to the absence of binding enforcement mechanisms. Most adaptation projects remain under funded or stuck at the pilot stage, especially in vulnerable countries like Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Global North continues to emit disproportionately while exporting the burden of climate change to those least responsible for it. There is also a profound local disconnect—climate change is viewed as a global issue, while the local voices most affected by it are often left out of the conversation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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