Pakistan is fraught with a number of economic, social, political, and environmental challenges. To effectively address these issues, it is imperative to not view them in isolation but to combat them in tandem paying attention to the systemic connections between them. Deferring climate action in favour of poverty reduction or political stabilization presents a very real threat; the magnitude of the climate change problem may become so large that it overwhelms all other challenges. Dr. Adil Najam and Rafay Alam discuss how governments can find a balance between imperatives of economic growth and development while prioritizing meaningful climate action.
Rafay Alam is a Pakistani environmental lawyer and activist. In 2013, after over a decade of practicing corporate and constitutional law, Rafay co-founded Saleem, Alam & Co. As one of Pakistan’s leading environment lawyers, Rafay regularly advises the federal and provincial governments, the World Bank, ADB, IFC and a number of INGOs on issues of policy and strategy in these sectors, and he provides corporate clients strategic sustainability insights.
Dr. Adil Najam is currently serving as the President of WWF International. He is a leading public scholar whose teaching, research and public engagement focuses on issues of global public policy especially those related to conservation and environment, sustainable and human development, and climate change in the Global South. He previously served as Vice Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Lahore, Pakistan.