Senior Supreme Court Judge Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah has remarked that the government is yet to set up a Climate Change Authority or Climate Change Fund under the Climate Change Act 2017.
Addressing the High-Level Climate Finance Forum and a workshop on COP 29, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that “overzealous” legislators pushed the issue overnight, but despite the fact that climate change funding Or not establish the authority that climate financing has become a lifeline for vulnerable countries like Pakistan.
He asserted that the government needs to wake up and think more seriously on such issues instead of other issues.
He recalled how the Climate Act is essential for the submission of international and local institutions for global funding related to the proper adaptation and sensitivity of climate change projects.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that it is a pity that there is no such authority in the country since the law was passed in 2017. He reiterated how a PIL had come up in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the government to set up a climate change authority.
He said that when the Supreme Court asked about allocating funds in the budget for climate change, the government had no answer.
“As a judge, I have failed to understand that if you don’t allocate any money at all for climate change in a country that is severely affected by climate change, then to allocate money in the budget,” he lamented. What could be more important than that?’
He said it was shocking, even though the government had assured the court that the money would be allocated in future budgets.
“What I want to tell you is that the Act of 2017 calls for the establishment of a climate authority, but in reality there is no such authority till date,” the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court lamented. Besides, not a penny has come into climate change funds.’
He said there must be a proper regulatory framework and “more ambitious” lawmakers need to come up with a strong and targeted regulatory framework. He stressed that the lack of such a framework poses a threat to timely project implementation and limits investor confidence in the safety of climate-related projects.
He warned that climate change should be the biggest human rights issue because climate change is the biggest threat facing Pakistan at present.
He said that judges see climate change as a human rights issue, because extreme weather conditions create problems for the basic rights of access to food, water and health, and therefore for the protection of human dignity and human survival. Any form of climate finance has become imperative.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah observed that ‘climate finance for Pakistan is not a choice but a survival strategy. When our house is on fire, I think climate finance is the water we use to put out the fire. is needed.’
He said that 30 billion dollars had to come from the international community in the context of 2022 floods, so we need to raise this issue in the context of human rights, otherwise there is no way to get such funds at the international level. will remain.’
