November 1, 2023: OICCI organized the 2nd Pakistan Climate Conference at OICCI Building, Talpur Road, Karachi. The conference aimed to keep the dialog, initiated in PCC 2022, active across several critical areas advocating for an effective policy direction and provide best practices from the private sector, needed to accelerate the nation’s climate positive journey.

The 2nd Pakistan Climate Conference 2023 brought together global and local climate change experts, business leaders, policymakers and social change activists under one roof. Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Minister of Finance, Muhammad Ali, Minister of Energy, Adil Najam, WWF Global President, Bill Winters, Global CEO Standard Chartered Bank, Philip Skinner, Managing Director GuarantCo, Sarah Mooney, British Deputy High Commissioner, Akif Saeed, Chairman SECP among other leading business and thought leaders addressed the conference.

Despite being responsible for less than 1% of the world’s planet-warming gases, Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable nation to the climate crisis. Last year’s floods that inundated one-third of the country under water were a stark reminder that Pakistan is paying a hefty price, not only with lives but destroyed schools, homes and bridges. Taking responsibility for our footprint, OICCI members are working towards minimizing our environmental mark as much as we can by implementing changes within our own operations and also engaging with other key players in the ecosystem.

The themes for the Conference were in line with the upcoming COP 28 scheduled to be held in UAE by the end of November. These included but were not limited to Climate Resilience and Capacity Building in Vulnerable Communities, Plastic and Waste Management, Emissions Reduction and Green Energy, and Towards Green Financing and Carbon Credits.

OICCI member companies, including Chevron, Dawlance, InfraZamin, Standard Chartered Bank, Unilever, BASF, Toyota Indus Motors, Nestle and Abbott were key sponsors of the event. “Climate change is a global issue but in Pakistan’s case it is evident that climate change is happening now and not a phenomenon that only our future generations will experience,” said Amir Paracha, OICCI President.

Emphasizing on achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, which Pakistan is a signatory to, Rehan Shaikh, Vice President OICCI, said that “We have a narrow window of opportunity to avoid the worst effects of climate change and we need to align our policies and investments with a net-zero future. We need to mobilize more resources and support for developing our country.”

The conference was attended by more than 250 people belonging to different sectors such as Academia, NGOs, Social Sector Organizations, Trade Bodies, and Civil Society.