Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Romina Khurshid Alam, Special Assistants to the Prime Minister (SAPM) and Convener Parliamentary Task force on SDGs, has said that developed countries which are major contributors of global carbon emissions must be called out and held responsible for their actions that developing countries are paying for.
Romina was speaking at a roundtable discussion on ‘Inclusive economic growth: an imperative for sustainable economic development’. The SAPM said that climate finance was not aid rather legitimate right of climate vulnerable countries and responsibility of high carbon emitting countries.
She urged for strengthening implementation of laws along with behavioural changes to reinstate respect for law, social responsibility and social norms to ensure that development is inclusive and reaches under-developed and underprivileged communities. She stressed that bureaucratic operations must be simplified through one window operations so that the development agendas are delivered timely and efficiently.
Dr Aasim Sajjad said that economic development is impossible without re-centring resources and redistribution policies. He observed that ignoring natural watershed management in infrastructure development is a leading cause of flooding and developments in the name of tourism cause environmental degradation, loss of habitats and biodiversity but most importantly catalyse melting of glaciers in Northern areas.
Dr Vaqar Ahmed, joint executive director, SDPI called for achieving sustainable economic development to overcome contemporary challenges. He said there is a dire need that the government opts for solution-oriented approach, forward-looking planning and looking at the current floods as an opportunity to reset social protection backed by well thought out targeted economic policies rather than burdening future generation with loans. Frequent changes in tax, tariffs and reversals of economic policies have long term negative implications and discourage foreign direct investments.
