Lahore : September 20, 2024 : Members of Labour Qaumi Movement, Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee & Power Loom and Garments Trade Union Punjab hold a demonstration in Gujranwala demanding adequate climate finance for Pakistan. Similar Protests and mobilization held in two cites of Sindh, Karachi and Shikarpur. Shikarpur demonstration was led by Hari Jeddojehad Committee, Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee and Pakistan Railway Workers Union – Open Line. Karachi demonstration was led by Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum.
The protests were staged ahead of the UN General Assembly meeting. Protestors demanded that rich countries who are developed as a result of historic emissions of carbon, must pay their fair share to counter climate crisis around the globe particularly Pakistan that most vulnerable in the world. During first half of the year, 568 people died in six days due to heat stroke in southern Pakistan.
In Gujranwala, Chairman of the Labour Qaumi Movement Baba Latif said that “Industrial labour gets disproportionately affected by climate crisis. On the one hand the environmental regulations around industries are non-existent due to which workers face health hazards inside the industries. On the other hand, due to growing temperatures, heatwaves and floods workers are at a risk of losing their jobs and livelihood. We demand from the rich countries, those who got developed at the expense of poor countries like Pakistan must pay their fair share because the responsibility of fixing climate crisis falls on their shoulders.”
In Shikarpur, President Hari Jeddojehad Committee Ali Khoso said that “The floods in 2022 are a stark reminder of climate change in our region. The country witnessed devastation where millions of people were left homeless and many more lost their jobs and livelihood. While the responsibility of relief and rehabilitation falls on our own government but we should not forget that the global climate crisis is driven by rich countries and their corporations who have displayed utter disregard to the planet in their pursuit of endless development. Rich countries have preyed upon the resources of poor countries while driving climate change. They must be held responsible for their actions”
In Karachi, General Secretary Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum Saeed Baloch said, “The U.S. is the leading historical emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gasses, making their elites, corporations, and government primarily responsible for the climate crisis. The U.S. and other rich, polluting countries have a historical, legal, and moral obligation to cover the costs of mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, and ensuring a just transition in the Global South. If they cannot deliver an adequate amount of climate finance, injustice will prevail and people in the Global South will suffer the most as global temperatures soar.”
Ahead of UN general Assembly meeting in New York, protests were also held in Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, led by the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD). The mobilizations in Asia are part of the Global Week of Action for Climate Finance and a Fossil-Free Future, a week-long series of protests in 58 countries calling for the phaseout of fossil fuels and the payment of climate finance.