Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had launched the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Initiative, on Saturday downplayed the controversy surrounding Pakistan’s exclusion from the upcoming global climate conference.
 
Taking to Twitter, Khan wrote, “I am puzzled at the cacophony over Pakistan not being invited to a climate change conference.” The government’s environment policy, he claimed, is driven by their “commitment” to their “future generations” to mitigate the impact of climate change. 

This came after US climate envoy John Kerry started his visit to Abu Dhabi, New Delhi and Dhaka for consultations on the upcoming climate summit. Earlier, US President Joe Biden had extended invitations to 40 world leaders, including those from Saudi Arabia, India, and Bangladesh, to attend the climate conference in the US this month. 

Pakistanis were taken by surprise when the list missed out Pakistan, a country that recently launched the ambitious target of planting 10 billion trees in the country. Some in the country considered the exclusion a snub from the US. 

Highlighting his country’s experience, Khan said, “Uur initiatives of Green Pak, 10 bn-tree tsunami, nature-based solutions, cleaning up our rivers etc. We have gained vast experience in 7 yrs, beg with KP, & our policies are being recognized & lauded. We are ready to help any state wanting to learn from our experience.”

The US state department responded to the debate: “The United States seeks to engage all countries to explore areas for cooperation on addressing the climate crisis, including Pakistan.”

It further said, “We look forward to working with the government of Pakistan and governments around the world to raise the level of global ambition to meet the climate challenge.”