Islamabad: A seven-day challenge has been launched in Islamabad to increase awareness of climate change and show how simple everyday actions can lead to a big impact.
The ‘Eat, Move, and Live Sustainably’ campaign was launched by the Embassy of Sweden in Pakistan together with WWF-Pakistan to promote eco-friendly lifestyle choices. The campaign challenges Pakistanis to live, eat and move smart for seven days. The aim is to show that simple daily actions such as walking, taking public transport or a bicycle rather than taking the car can help reduce your carbon footprint or climate impact.
Encouraging people to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, the Ambassador of Sweden to Pakistan, Henrik Persson, said: “Let’s start a more sustainable and smarter lifestyle together today. It can be as simple as saying no to single-use of plastic products or using a bicycle whenever you can to reduce your carbon footprint.” He also said that there’s was huge potential for Pakistan and Sweden to collaborate on sustainability efforts as “both countries aspire to fight climate change and lead the green transition.”
10 billion trees
Speaking at the launch event, Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam said that despite emitting less than 1 per cent of global emissions, Pakistan is setting up climate action with several green initiatives such as 10 billion tree plantation project, renewable energy and ecosystem restoration projects under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision for a clean, green and climate-resilient Pakistan.
During the event, experts from Swedish company representatives from Tetra Pak Pakistan, Tundra Fonder and H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, shared their business strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Another panel featured the chairperson of Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), Saaf Suthra Sheher founder and WWF-Pakistan experts who shared some of the easiest and most impactful actions individuals can take to reduce their climate impact.
Experts shared several actions that individuals can take to personally combat climate change, from carpooling, walking and taking public transportation to limit their meat consumption, recycling waste, conserving water and educating friends and family.
“As the world embarks on the UN decade for ecosystem restoration, Pakistan is well-positioned to take advantage of a wide window of opportunities. The government, private sector and non-profit organisations are all aligned towards the preservation of natural resources. Despite this, plastics account for 65 per cent of the total waste in Pakistan and 36 million tonnes of food go to waste every year” said WWF-Pakistan’s director general, Hammad Naqi Khan.
The seven-day challenge is an effort to create awareness and address the missing link, by encouraging individuals to step up and make eco-friendly choices for a sustainable future,” Khan said.
The Swedish concept of the seven-day challenge has been successfully carried out in Kenya, Brazil, Vietnam, and Indonesia inviting individuals to practise sustainable urban lifestyles.
