The impact of climate change in cities is highly dependent on spatial factors. Within a sprawling and metropolitan city like Karachi, examining its topographic and geographic spatiality in terms of its unique location by sea, desert and forest is key in determining the negative effects of climate change on its twenty million residents. In this episode, Maha Qasim and Yasir Hussain dive into the historiography of Karachi’s spatial vulnerabilities to discuss problems of climate change linked to heat, water and agriculture, and examine solutions ranging from planting urban forests to strengthening disaster management systems and institutions.
Maha Qasim is a Climate change and ESG expert with 16+ years of experience in managing climate-related projects, sustainability and climate change strategy, and climate finance. As CEO of Zero-Point Partners, she leads client engagement and oversees a team of experts specializing in ESG strategy, advisory and capacity-building, sustainability reporting, and climate risk assessment.
Yasir Hussain has worked to bring knowledge about the environment, art and new media, to the public, through art and technology projects, community involvement, an engagement with culture, and working in schools. Yasir is the founder of Green Pakistan Coalition for advocacy, and Darya Lab for doing on-ground projects.