ISLAMABAD : 25 March 2026: Dr Jose A. Puppim De Oliveira, a renowned Brazilian climate expert and the Chair in Climate Change Governance and Global Development at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, has said that water resource management and population explosion are critical emerging challenges for developing countries.
He was speaking at a special ceremony hosted jointly by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and the Institute of Urbanism here on Wednesday.
“With 2030 approaching, many countries remain uncertain about achieving SDG targets,” he said, suggesting that timelines or implementation mechanisms may require adjustments.
Dr. Oliveira, who is also a Coordinating Lead Author of Chapter 4 (“How to Accelerate Change”) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Cities (SRCities), stressed the need for stronger collaboration between Pakistani institutions and global climate research networks, while lauding the role of Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in the review process of upcoming IPCC reports and implementation-oriented climate initiatives .
Highlighting opportunities for collaboration, Dr. Oliveira said the IPCC review process involves practitioners from government institutions, academia, and think tanks, and encouraged SDPI to participate in the review cycle leading up to the next major IPCC reporting phase expected in March 2027. He added that such engagement could also create opportunities to present research findings at the United Nations General Assembly.
Stressing the need to strengthen coordination between federal and provincial departments in Pakistan to ensure that climate policy recommendations translate into practical implementation, he said interaction among multiple stakeholders improves institutional learning and enhances policy effectiveness.
Referring to research cooperation prospects, Dr. Oliveira noted that the Urban Institute at the University of Manchester currently focuses on Africa. He said there is a strong potential for expanding its work to Pakistan, particularly in areas such as urban governance, climate finance for cities, waste management, and sectoral mitigation strategies.
Sharing international experiences, he said Brazil is expected to operationalize its carbon market next year and has already established a national mechanism for carbon credit exchange with China and other partners. He also highlighted Brazil’s efforts in forest conservation financing and its progress in developing an online Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) tracking and self-reporting system.
He said his interest in engaging with Pakistan grew after meeting Pakistani delegates at COP30 in Brazil and through collaboration with Pakistani researchers, working on topics related to IPCC reports.
SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri welcomed the visiting scholar and outlined SDPI’s role as one of Pakistan’s premier policy think tanks, working across climate change, economy, and health sectors while supporting government policymaking through technical engagement. He said that SDPI also served on the advisory committee for COP29 and contributes to several technical bodies of the Government of Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, SDPI Research Fellow Dr Kashif Salik highlighted that climate change impacts on urban areas are intensifying as migration toward cities continues to accelerate, placing additional pressure on infrastructure and public services. He stressed that while migration cannot be avoided, it can be managed through effective policies.
Earlier, Dr Ejaz Ahmed urged the visiting professor to identify avenues through which Pakistan-related research initiatives could be further scaled up through international academic collaboration.
