Geographies of vulnerability 'caught in recovery trap', says Sherry Rehman.

ISLAMABAD -- Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman on Thursday said, "The geographies of vulnerability, those of us who live in warmer climates, are caught in a recovery trap. We are at the ground zero of climate stress as we live in an era of accelerated climate change which leads to extraordinary human suffering. My worry is that despite excellent progress made at a climate resilient recovery conference, we may not be able to rebuild one-third of the country before the next disaster hits us."

The minister was speaking at the annual Pakistan Breakfast at Davos as the Chief Guest, organised by the Pathfinder Group. She thanked the organizers for arranging the event annually on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting in Davos, allowing Pakistani policymakers to share their insights with participants from all over the world in Davos, a news release here received said.

The minister praised the efforts of the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister for their leadership on the multilateral stage and exceeding the targets in Geneva during the Climate Resilient Pakistan conference, despite donor fatigue and other crises in the world.

'It gave us a sense of how success can be achieved in times of extreme adversity, and what was a climate emergency. However, make no mistake because it is still a climate emergency in Pakistan, and we still have a lot of work ahead of us to bring the country back to its feet. The cameras have moved away, but the crisis prolongs. There are still 20 million people who need humanitarian assistance, and 8 million people are exposed to flood waters,' she said.

The minister highlighted, "These disasters are not just acts of God, instead are the outcomes of prolonged anthropogenic activities - as these are man-made disasters and we shouldn't deflect the responsibility by calling it an act of God alone."

The minister also spoke at a panel discussion titled 'Investing in Nature' organised by The Maryam Forum Foundation where she was joined by the Minister for International Cooperation of the Government of Egypt, Rania Mashat, President, Center for Global Development, Sir Masood Ahmed, Chief Economist, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Erik Berglof, and Chief Sustainability Officer, Mastercard, USA, Ellen Jackowski.

The session was moderated by journalist Nik Gowing, founder of Thinking the Unthinkable and former BBC World News presenter.

The Minister said that climate change and biodiversity are critical...