LAHORE: The Supreme Court’s senior puisne judge, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, argued Monday that climate finance is fundamentally the same as climate justice.
He claimed that although there is a climate emergency in Pakistan, despite court rulings, no significant progress has been made in the past seven years.
Justice Shah spoke during the Pathways to Development Conference’s first session on climate justice, which was hosted by the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
He emphasized that without nature money, it is impossible to combat the climate problem. He went on to say, “The new climate justice is climate finance.”
Justice Shah laments the disregard for court orders during the past seven years.
He emphasized the importance of addressing issues like water security, disaster management, and food security.
He claimed that although courts had given orders in a number of cases, nothing practical had been done. According to him, climate finance in Pakistan has the potential to provide security and serve as a ray of hope for the populace.
Justice Shah emphasized that protecting climate justice requires a focus on climate finance because it is essentially a human right. Given its importance in reducing pollution and enhancing biodiversity, he said Pakistan has to overcome its administrative issues and acknowledge climate finance as a fundamental right.
He lamented that although administrative problems still exist, Pakistan is the seventh most affected nation by climate change. The nation is pursuing distractions, he said, criticizing the lack of concentration.
He did concede, though, that cases involving climate emergencies have always been regarded seriously by the courts.
In reference to policies like closing cities’ industries in the 1990s, he asked who would make sure the decision was carried out.
Although a statute was passed in 2017 to address environmental changes, according to Justice Shah, no authority has been set up as of yet. He said he was hopeful that an authority will soon be established. A fund was intended to be established under the 2017 law, but the budget makes no mention of it either.
The judge responded, “We do not have the suo motu powers anymore,” in response to an audience question concerning the Supreme Court’s previous use of suo motu notices.
Rights to land
Advocate General of Punjab (AGP) Khalid Ishaq bemoaned the lack of a master plan outside of the Lahore district at the second session of the conference on the security of land rights.
He claimed that urbanization had displaced thousands of acres of agricultural land in practically every district of Punjab, and that this had happened without any consideration of the fundamental need for housing.
Even in developed housing developments, he lamented the conversion of amenity spaces into residential plots.
In order to preserve the green spaces, he demanded that land purchase regulations be further improved.
According to Mr. Ishaq, most housing developments in central Punjab were unlawful and unauthorized.
Additionally, he discussed the province’s government’s efforts in digitizing land records.
Speaking at the event were Federal Ombudsperson Fauzia Viqar, Director General of the Punjab Land Record Authority Ikramul Haq, and others.
