Sherry calls for preventive measures, social media awareness to counter climate challenges
Chairperson of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday highlighted the urgent climate challenges Pakistan is facing such as rising temperatures, water scarcity, poor sanitation, uncertain weather patterns, flash floods and spread of diseases and called for collective measures to overcome them.
She expressed these view in her keynote address as Chief Guest at the “PCF Climate Youth Summit 2025” organized by the Progressive Climate Foundation (PCF) in collaboration with Environmental Science Department and Green youth movement, International Islamic University (IIU) at the Allama Iqbal Hall, Faisal Masjid. Organized under the theme “Voices of the Future: Climate Dialogue in Youth Leadership,” the event brought together youth leaders, environmental experts, policymakers, and civil society representatives for a day of impactful dialogue, learning, and networking.
Sherry Rehman praised PCF’s contributions through community projects such as plastic-free campaigns, and youth mobilization regarding policymakers.
She emphasized the critical need to integrate climate education into the national curriculum.
She acknowledged the importance of preventive climate measures and social media awareness so that people could support climate-friendly practices at their homes and workplaces.
She lauded the efforts of PCF fellows in producing insightful white papers on local climate issues.
Opting for green sources of energy from the fossil fuel should be a priority with the governments, both the federal and the provincial, said she as Pakistan has huge potential for solar, wind and hydro energy.
Sherry also commended strong participation by women in the summit, noted the role of women in rural water collection, and shared updates on government initiatives related to land allocation and climate-smart governance.
Founder and CEO of PCF and Master Facilitator of the British Council’s PYLI Project, Tawseef Khan in his welcome address underscored the PCF’s mission to foster environmental awareness, education, and community involvement through youth-led initiatives. He emphasized the importance of youth leadership in building a climate-resilient Pakistan.
The summit served as a powerful platform to mobilize and empower the youth in fight against climate change while amplifying their voices in national policy discussions.
The summit included an award ceremony recognizing PCF Climate Action Fellowship fellows for their white paper contributions on climate issues in their respective cities.
In her closing remarks, Kanwal Ejaz, Director PCF, expressed gratitude to Senator Sherry Rehaman, partners, and the audience for their active participation.
The summit concluded with a networking session where participants exchanged ideas for future collaborations and sustainable climate solutions.
