LAHORE: On the call of the Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee (PKRC) and Labour Education Foundation (LEF), hundreds of people, including representatives of trade unions and civil society organizations, marched in the capital of Punjab on Sunday to demand clean air and climate justice.
Marching from the Lahore Press Club up to Aiwan-i-Iqbal on Egerton Road, the participants held banners, posters, and red flags while chanting that workers should be protected from climate change-related job losses.
“Wealthy nations that are accountable for the climate calamity continue to avoid responsibility, while the people suffer from the worst effects of a crisis they did not cause. We call for the right to clean air, climate justice for all, and quick reparations for communities affected by flooding. To hold polluters responsible and create a sustainable, just future, a people-led movement is long overdue, stated PKRC secretary general Farooq Tariq.
He said that the floods of 2022 were among the biggest climate-related calamities in the nation’s history, affecting around 33 million people, killing over 1,700, and uprooting millions more. The floods were caused by glacial melt and unusual monsoon rains.
“Pakistan’s over dependence on fossil fuels for energy generation is causing economic instability as well as environmental deterioration. Nowadays, fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas provide more than 60% of the nation’s electricity, with renewable energy making up less than 5%. In addition to making climatic effects like heat waves and floods worse, this reliance hurts the economy by driving up fuel import costs, according to Khalid Mahmood of LEF.
He argued for a people-centered energy transition, saying that a fair shift to renewable energy is necessary to protect communities at the forefront of the climate problem, reduce emissions, and create sustainable jobs.
With a total of about 5,000 MW from coal plants as of 2022, Pakistan has greatly expanded its potential to generate energy using coal. This amounts to nearly 30% of the nation’s installed power production capacity.
The climate catastrophe is not a far-off concern; in places like Gilgit-Baltistan, where glaciers are melting at a startling rate, it is already changing people’s lives. “While corporate interests continue their reckless resource extraction with no regard for ecological destruction, communities on the periphery face devastating flash floods,” stated Baba Jan, president of the Awami Workers Party (AWP) in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Prioritizing people and the environment before business is what climate justice entails. He continued by saying that in order to safeguard our lands, means of subsistence, and future generations, we must oppose exploitation and demand immediate action.
