Najam Discusses Pakistan’s Climate Diplomacy at ISSI Lecture
On December 22, 2021, Adil Najam, Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was the featured speaker at The Centre for Strategic Perspectives (CSP) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad’s (ISSI) Distinguished Lecture Series, where he discussed climate change and climate diplomacy.
The event kicked off with remarks by Ambassador Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, ISSI Director General, who said that climate change is a serious threat, more than what the world recognizes, and more is needed to be done to address this particular issue.
In his remarks, Najam emphasized that climate change is no longer a future issue and has become an everyday concern for countries around the world, and Pakistan is no exception. It is an issue that has mostly affected the developing countries including Pakistan as approximately a third of Pakistan’s population is facing challenges regarding climate adaptation, primarily in the agricultural sector mostly because of water. Najam was of the view that countries like Pakistan – which are more climatic, agricultural, and water-dependent – will have to bear the maximum cost of climate change, hence, Pakistan has to change its efforts both nationally and internationally to address the issue diplomatically and make it a diplomatic cause.
Najam has been of the view that the world has largely failed to produce any global agreement on climate change regardless of the multiple global conferences. He argued that multilateralism and climate diplomacy have failed in recent years – major casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic – and that both are required elements in addressing climate change. As head of the G-77, Najam said that Pakistan has an opportunity to lead on this critical issue and bring the concerns of developing countries to other international forums.
A recording of the lecture can be viewed below.
Adil Najam is a global public policy expert who also served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. He is the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and was the former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). His research focuses on issues of global public policy, especially those related to global climate change, South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human development. Read more about Dean Najam on his faculty profile.