Pakistan 'puzzled' over no invite to US climate summit

KARACHI, Pakistan

Apparently irked over not being invited to an upcoming US-hosted meeting on the climate crisis, Pakistan's prime minister on Saturday said he could not understand the omission.

"I am puzzled at the cacophony over Pakistan not being invited to a climate change conference," Imran Khan said in a series of tweets, referring an April 22-23 virtual meeting.

He said Pakistan's environmental policies are driven "solely by our commitment to our future generations of a clean & green Pakistan to mitigate the impact of climate change."

"Hence our initiatives of Green Pak, 10 billion-tree tsunami, nature based solutions, cleaning up our rivers, etc.," he cited, referring to a massive tree planting drive to restore forests.

"Our policies are being recognised and lauded. We are ready to help any state wanting to learn from our experience," he added.

US President Joe Biden invited 40 world leaders to the summit “to galvanize efforts by the major economies to tackle the climate crisis,” the White House announced last week, but its longtime ally Pakistan was not on the invite list.

Khan also said he has already laid out priorities for the UN Climate Change Conference 2021 if the international community is serious about countering the impact of climate change.

KARACHI, Pakistan

Apparently irked over not being invited to an upcoming US-hosted meeting on the climate crisis, Pakistan's prime minister on Saturday said he could not understand the omission.

"I am puzzled at the cacophony over Pakistan not being invited to a climate change conference," Imran Khan said in a series of tweets, referring an April 22-23 virtual meeting.

He said Pakistan's environmental policies are driven "solely by our commitment to our future generations of a clean & green Pakistan to mitigate the impact of climate change."

"Hence our initiatives of Green Pak, 10 billion-tree tsunami, nature based solutions, cleaning up our rivers, etc.," he cited, referring to a massive tree planting drive to restore forests.

"Our policies are being recognised and lauded. We are ready to help any state wanting to learn from our experience," he added.

Khan also said he has already laid out priorities for the UN Climate Change Conference 2021 if the international community is serious about countering the impact of climate change.