DawnMedia is organising the second edition of The Breathe Pakistan International Climate Change Conference in Islamabad today.
Despite contributing minimally to global emissions, Pakistan remains among the most climate-vulnerable nations, underscoring the critical need for coordinated, locally grounded, and globally informed responses.
The two-day conference brings together policymakers, experts, and stakeholders from across sectors to examine intersecting challenges and chart a path forward.
The first edition of Breathe Pakistan sparked national dialogue and global collaboration around vital climate challenges — from climate justice and finance to renewable energy transitions, disaster risk reduction, and inclusive public-private partnerships.
View the full agenda here .
10:05am - World Bank officials recognises Pakistan’s efforts to tackle climate change
S. Adeel Abbas, the regional climate lead at the World Bank Group, has acknowledged the government’s commitment and policy toward tackling climate change.
“I work on 24 countries in the region on climate change. I think Pakistan is among one of those countries that have set the agenda right,” he said, calling for moving toward action.
9:56am - Sherry Rehman asks why the cost of conflict is not being counted
“Why is the cost of conflict not being counted? That carbon footprint is missing,” PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said. She said that geopolitics was “devouring the future”.
9:53am - PPP Senator Sherry Rehman says conflicts are costing the environment
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said that “conflicts are costing the environment much more than we know, compute or understand”. She said that there were more than 60 active conflicts in the world.
She also said that data on this was missing. She also said that there was very little discussion on the impact of these wars on the environment.
9:50am - PPP Senator Sherry Rehman highlights gap between action and ambition
PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, in her keynote address, said, “All state climate action … there is a splintered, fragmented movement”.
“While the global crisis is staggering, what is equally devastating is the state of the global movement itself. It is defunded and derided,” she said.
9:47am - Dawn CEO calls for shift in priorities at home
Dawn CEO Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani has called for shifting priorities at home.
“Pakistan must place far greater emphasis on adaptation,” she said, adding that this was not enough.
“At the global level, climate finance must be rebalanced to reflect the reality on the ground, not just global ambition. Adaptation needs to sit alongside mitigation, not behind it,” she said.
“At the same time, we must be disciplined in how we manage the energy transition. We need to scale renewables without constraining growth, invest in modernising our grid, and ensure that transition financing supports development rather than creating unsustainable debt burdens,” she said.
9:44am - Dawn CEO says urgency for Pakistan is immediate
Dawn CEO Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani has said that no single actor can address the challenge of climate change alone.
“Governments provide policy direction and frameworks. The private sector drives investment, innovation, and execution. Communities bring lived experience and accountability. Media plays a critical role in informing the public, shaping discourse, and holding all stakeholders accountable. Real progress depends on aligning these roles into a coherent whole,” she said.
“For Pakistan, this urgency is immediate, and it sits alongside deep economic and development pressures that are already shaping national priorities. Decisions made today on energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and urbanisation will define not just our climate resilience, but the direction of our economic future,” she said.
9:42am - Dawn CEO says climate change threat to Pakistan’s economic stability
“Pakistan is among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, facing increasingly severe floods, heatwaves, water stress, and dangerously poor air quality. These are no longer abstract risks or rare phenomena; they are recurring shocks,” Dawn CEO Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani said.
“Behind every statistic showing up on our screens are real lives. Farmers are losing entire harvests, families are forced to leave their homes, children are growing up in hazardous air, and communities are rebuilding after each disaster only to face the next one,” she said.
She said that climate change was not just an environmental crisis.
“It is a threat to Pakistan’s economic stability, public health, and the country’s development trajectory. And the burden is not shared equally,” she said.
9:40am - Dawn CEO delivers opening remarks
Dawn CEO Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani addressed the second edition of the Breathe Pakistan International Climate Change Conference. In her remarks, she said that the platform had grown into “an important space for dialogue, collaboration and action on one of the defining challenges of our time”.
“When we first convened this platform in 2025, we did so with a clear belief that climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is not a conversation for tomorrow. It is a lived reality for Pakistan, for South Asia, and for millions across the globe. Today, as we gather again, that reality has only intensified,” she said.
9:34am - 2-day conference begins
The two-day conference has officially begun. It is being held at the Sheesh Mahal Hall of Serena Hotel, Islamabad. The conference began with the national anthem and the recitation of the Holy Quran.
