ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday urged the global community to come together and join hands to protect the ecosystem, increase tree-cover and save the environment for coming generations.
The remarks were part of an address the prime minister delivered during the virtual launch gala of UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration on the occasion of World Environment Day — an event hosted this year by Islamabad.
Live Stream: Prime Minister of Pakistan @ImranKhanPTI Addressing at Ceremony of World Environment Day in Islamabad (05.06.2021)#WorldEnvironmentDay #EcosystemRestoration #GenerationRestoration #WEDPakistan2021 https://t.co/eozXNph3rX
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) June 5, 2021
“It is time for the world to come together and save the environment for our future generations,” he said.
He further urged the international community to make efforts to stop the rapid depletion of tree cover as well as the degradation of the environment.
Sharing his government’s efforts towards improving the environment, Imran pointed out that Pakistan, as part of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, had so far completed the plantation of one billion trees of its ambitious target to plant 10 billion trees.
“Pakistan has also started another ambitious programme of increasing national parks in the country and so far nine such areas have been established in various parts of the country,” he said.
He said the objective of this programme was to increase tree cover and protect wildlife.
The day would be celebrated across the world through various events and activities, in line with the latest Covid-19 regulations.
He said his government was also working on the restoration of wetlands by using floodwaters and replenishing the water table.
Imran said that as the whole process also helped in creating green employment opportunities — the government created 80,000 jobs for women and youth during the pandemic.
At a time when prolonged quarantines rendered people unemployed, the government enabled them, particularly women and youth in remote areas, to generate income by growing nurseries, he recalled.
He said the rich economies have not done enough to combat global warming, adding Pakistan had done more than its global counterparts to combat carbon emissions relative to its economic means.
“Has the developed world done enough: The answer is no,” he said. “Emissions are from the rich countries. And I think they know they haven’t done enough.”
As if the world is doing nothing and would listen to this prick