03/10/2025
"No Plan B for climate action as there is no Planet B"
The Area Study Center hosted a special talk on climate diplomacy. Lt. Gen. Mehmood Hayat, former Chairman (NDMA), was invited to talk on the recent floods in Pakistan and the avenues for climate partnership between the U.S. and Pakistan.
In his presentation, General Hayat provided a historical overview of disaster management legislation in Pakistan since the Civil Defence Act of 1952. He stressed that while Pakistan has the legislative and institutional frameworks, the country continues to suffer from lack of funds and skilled human capital. Highlighting the limitations of NDMA, he acknowledged that the NDMA does not even possess sufficient resources to tackle seasonal fires in the Margalla hills.
The discussion then shifted to Pakistan’s position in global climate diplomacy. Pakistan is one of the lowest greenhouse gas emitters, yet it is among the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world. Pakistan is sandwiched between China and India who are the largest emitters of the GHGs globally. Keeping in view the recent floods, irregular monsoon and the rising temperature, Pakistan need to build strong international climate partnerships.
General Hayat also reflected on the transactional relations between U.S. and Pakistan. He was skeptical of building climate partnership with a country where, at the highest level, Climate Change has often been dismissed as a 'scam'. He focused on the mineral and mines partnership between Pakistan and the US and was hopeful of building climate-friendly partnerships.
In the end General Hayat discussed the importance of disaster diplomacy and he gave the example of Pakistan and India. Despite the intense war recently, the countries never closed the doors of disaster diplomacy.
The talk concluded with a lively Q&A session, where critical questions were raised about the efficiency of NDMA and the need for its de-securitization, so that disaster management can evolve beyond a post-disaster reactive body into a proactive and preventive institution.
