ISLAMABAD: Mr. Suh Sangpyo, Ambassador of South Korea to Pakistan Tuesday said that the Korean government appreciated the Pakistani government’s efforts to prevent and respond to climate change induced natural disasters.
Addressing a seminar on climate change policy of Korea and Pakistan, he said, “our two countries have contributed a lot to the global efforts to address climate change induced challenges and also have worked together in multi-lateral forums including UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
He said that Pakistan was one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Recently, a report published by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) estimated Pakistan’s annual losses caused by climate change at 26 billion US dollars under the worst scenario. That cost is equal to 9% of Pakistan’s GDP.
This year Pakistan had experienced huge losses and damages all over the country due to the abnormal heavy rainfalls. “In this monsoon season, this kind of natural disaster still haunts us here in Pakistan,” he said.
Pakistan is a member country of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), which was established by the Korean Initiative to support and promote sustainable economic growth in developing countries. Korea and Pakistan continue to collaborate closely on all the climate related issues that our planet faces.
Ambassador told that in order to promote renewable energy, Korean Development Agency (KOICA) had established a Solar Panel testing laboratory in Islamabad and also worked on a project to enhance the water quality monitoring system by providing equipment and supporting capacity building.
Moreover, with the Public and Private Partnership (PPP) model, Korean hydropower companies are constructing hydropower plants in northern areas, KP and AJK, he added.
Korea Land and House Cooperation in partnership with UN-HABITAT was also working on a project to reduce greenhouse gasses.
Korean Embassy also financially supported tree plantation in Pakistan in 2019 and 2021. Korea and Pakistan also collaborate in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Ambassador, while explaining bilateral cooperation, told the participants that last year in January Korea and Pakistan held a DG-level consultation meeting on climate change, science, and technology. Since then, some of the meeting results were successfully followed up, so one of the outcomes was Pakistan’s joining GGGI.
He said that Korea will host two expos to promote sustainable development. One is World Smart City Expo which will be held near Seoul city from August 31 to September 2. The other expo is Busan World Expo 2030.
Speaking on the occasion, additional secretary of Climate Change Division said that Pakistan and Korea have had a decent relationship in multiple fields including climate collaboration and climate dialogue.
Pakistan is among the top ten countries in the world as far as vulnerability is concerned, he informed. He further stated that the cooperation between Pakistan and Korea in climate change should be enhanced to combat climate change.
