Najam Discusses Future of Pakistan’s Climate Policy on “Climate Mahaul”
Adil Najam, Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, appeared on “Climate Mahaul” – a podcast from Pakistan-based thinktank Tabadlab – to discuss climate change and Pakistan’s climate policy.
In this episode, Najam and host Huma Yusuf reflect on the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) and offer thoughts on how Pakistan – a country that emits less than 1% of global greenhouse gases but counts among the most climate-vulnerable – should craft its climate policy. Reflecting on COP26, Najam argues that the annual climate summit has become routinized and ritualized acting as an opportunity for leaders to express concern without taking substantive action. He goes on to say that countries come together and try to do what’s best for them and if everyone does that then the result will be what’s best for the world; however, this math does not add up.
On Pakistan specifically, Najam noted that Pakistan needs to take climate more seriously and make it more of an internal issue. Pakistan’s climate discussion has long been viewed through a global lens, but Najam argues that the country needs to stop thinking about appeasing the global community and putting its people and their health at the forefront of its strategy.
Listen to the full podcast below.
Adil Najam is a global public policy expert who also served as the Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. He is the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and was the former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). His research focuses on issues of global public policy, especially those related to global climate change, South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human development. Read more about Dean Najam on his faculty profile.