Climate Action Now! – March for the Planet at Karachi Climate March
Written by: Syed Ali Arshad
It’s 2019 already. The climate crisis has only gotten worse. We are anticipating a disastrous future, and the concerned governmental and economic sector authorities, not to mention the public, have failed to grasp the magnitude of local and global environmental challenges. With record-breaking summer temperatures for five consecutive years as the temperature rises around the world, and with heat waves hitting even the European belt, unprecedented reduction of ice-caps and glaciers in Alaska, increased number of natural disasters with more frequent floods in one region and more frequent droughts in other – the earth’s climate change has outpaced natural evolution. Human activities including increased carbon emissions, destruction of natural landscapes, uncontrolled production of environment harming energy and products has driven the Earth into a state of critical danger.
This issue resonates in a city like Karachi: a heavily populated metropolis battling the catastrophic intensity of heat waves, burgeoning water crises, dismal waste management practices, massive reductions of green spaces, and one of the most unclean air records on Earth. Karachi is one of the ten most unlivable cities on the planet, with a diminishing street life thanks to intolerable weather. The government does not seem to be taking any adequate measures to make the city more resilient to climate change, or to take preventative measures to reduce harm.
Moreover, the failure of the international community to address the climate crisis brings undue burden on developing countries like Pakistan, which makes it all the more necessary that the world registers that Pakistan is concerned and wants change in the status quo.
March for the Earth
It is a promising observation that this demonstration is a youth-lead event. The younger generations are in it to save their future. High school students have already started mobilizing for the march. Student clubs across many colleges are conducting poster making and issue sensitization sessions.
It’s time for the global citizens to mobilize and reclaim the Earth. Our cities, forests and wildlife, seas and oceans, mountains and glaciers, and the beautiful ecological balance that used to tie them together, need to be saved from the disastrous human activities. The citizens of the world are marching for the climate, this Friday on 20th September 2019. Thousands of people, in more than 150 countries are already committed to striking to make this “the biggest climate mobilisation the world has ever seen”. City based chapters have organically emerged and will present their demands on the day to their respective governments. Citizens of Karachi, along with those of Lahore, Peshawar, Multan and 22 other cities are following suite. Thanks to the courtesy of Climate Action Pakistan, maps of all the participating cities can be viewed here!
Climate Action Pakistan, formed by a group of environmentalists, is helping organize the march in Karachi. It is a lead up to United Nations Emergency climate summit and will start at Frere Hall, which in the recent years, has evolved into a gathering spot for many social activist marches.
Besides these young minds, workplace unions, lawyers community, ecology focused public art interventions like the upcoming Karachi Biennale of 2019, and concerned Non-Governmental Organizations, most notably WWF are joining in as well.
Main Demands
The manifesto for the march reads:
“Pakistan is home to a number of ecosystems, each facing unique threats, making Pakistan and Pakistanis incredibly vulnerable to climate change. Pakistan needs to prioritize not only adaptation efforts but become part of a global collective to reduce carbon emissions”
Also, listen to what the global community says about why they are marching:
For more such stories, follow the hashtag #WhyIMarch on twitter and instagram.
From the Amazon forests, to the glaciers of Northern Pakistan, every part of our planet is in dire need of help. The Earth is only going to get more uninhabitable and we will have to suffer more casualties, if swift action isn’t taken now. For a lot of the measures that have caused climate change, for example, government economic policies, it might not be our fault. But it is important to also reflect on our lifestyle choices – our carbon footprint for resources we consume, and for the plastic waste we produce. All of us have to do our part to help fight climate change. One of the ways you can help is by joining fellow Karachiites in the Climate March Karachi, this Friday on 4pm at Frere Hall!
