Climate change continues to be one of the world’s major crises, triggering environmental disasters that include melting glaciers, rising sea levels, flooding, droughts and heatwaves. Pakistan may contribute a negligible amount to global warming, yet nonetheless it is among the most vulnerable and affected countries.

Although the conversation in Pakistan around global warming has been gathering pace in selected government, corporate and civil society circles, there is a pressing need that this conversation be further extended into the public consciousness by the media. Recognising the urgency of the situation and the need for a public debate, DawnMedia has taken the initiative to launch a nationwide ‘Breathe Pakistan’ campaign to drive the conversation towards concrete and realistic climate action, with the first phase of the campaign culminating in the first-ever international conference on climate change to be held in Pakistan.

The campaign itself kicked off on August 14, 2024, with influencer-based activities and well-known personalities and politicians receiving saplings in a bid for them to plant them and encourage their followers to do so as well. Next, DawnMedia leveraged its media properties to promote ‘Breathe Pakistan’ via a series of statistic-based public service messages highlighting Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change. This was followed by a more conceptual and creative approach, centring on mycelium – the network of fungal threads beneath the soil that connect to the roots of trees. If a tree is harmed within a forest, the mycelium network detects it and provides nourishment to the damaged tree. The communication urged people to emulate mycelium and come together as “a line of defence against catastrophic climate change.” 

As the campaign gained momentum, 30+ sponsors came on board and were termed Mycelium Warriors. They included United Nations Pakistan, the Government of Punjab, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, corporate entities such as Unilever Pakistan and EBM, as well as the World Bank Group and the WWF. Their participation demonstrated Breathe Pakistan’s increasing impact and reach. During the entire campaign, all Dawn Media properties (Aurora, CityFM89, Dawn, Dawn.com, DawnNews, Dawn News English and Young World) ran features along with expert commentary and opinion, further putting the spotlight on climate change. 

The Breathe Pakistan International Climate Change Conference was held on February 6 and 7 in Islamabad.  Describing the rationale behind the conference, Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani, CEO, Dawn, says, “A lot of hope by the Global South was attached to COP 29, which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024. We thought that we would see some climate justice in terms of commitments and funding from the Global North for countries that don’t contribute so much to damaging the environment but are disproportionately affected by it. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Therefore, we realised that we needed to have a platform able to initiate multiple dialogues between the private and public sectors in order to arrive at concrete solutions to combat climate change and its effects.”

The conference, the first of its kind in Pakistan, featured 14 sessions and addressed a broad spectrum of topics.

They included climate justice, climate finance, government-corporate partnerships for climate resilience, the media’s role in climate awareness, women’s empowerment in climate action and climate education. These sessions were led by nearly 70 expert speakers from 11 countries.

High-level government officials also lent their voices to the conversation and included Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to the PM on Climate Change; Marriyum Aurangzeb, Senior Minister, Government of Punjab; Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Senator Sherry Rehman (former Federal Minister for Climate Change Environmental Coordination).

The conference brought together global climate leaders, including Valerie Hickey, Global Director for Climate Change, World Bank; Harjeet Singh, Global Engagement Director, Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, and Sonam Wangchuk, winner of the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Adding further depth to the conference, prominent media figures such as Zaffar Abbas, Editor, Dawn; Mahfuz Anam, Editor, The Daily Star, Dhaka; Kanak Mani Dixit, Founder and Editor, Himal; Emiliya Mychasuk, Climate Editor, Financial Times and Aathira Perinchery, The Wire, examined the role of journalism in driving climate awareness and accountability.

The corporate sector also had a strong presence, with industry leaders Fakhar Ahmed, Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer, Jazz; Amir Paracha, Chairman & CEO Unilever; Pakistan, Shahzain Munir, Executive Director, EBM and Nabila Yazdani, Head of Strategy, Communication and Sustainability, Zong CMPAK who discussed the importance of public-private partnerships in financing a sustainable future.

The conference concluded with commitments by the government and private sector to prioritise climate action and finance while addressing key environmental challenges such as glacial melt, pollution control, water management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation.

Other priorities included tackling the impact of climate change on women, ensuring food security, combating deforestation, enhancing agriculture, reducing pollution, and promoting climate education.

Senate Chairman and Acting President Yousuf Raza Gillani, who concluded the conference, described it as “momentous,” stating that it not only “amplified the urgency of climate action but also reaffirmed our collective resolve to combat one of the greatest challenges of our time.” He further emphasised that the conference had highlighted how “climate change is not just an environmental concern but a fundamental issue of economic security, social justice, and national sovereignty.”

In addition to extensive media coverage in Pakistan, international media organisations such as the AFP, Al Jazeera, Anadolu Agency, MSN and the Press Trust of India covered the conference. Social media outlets worldwide were also plugged into the conference.

Reflecting on the response to ‘Breathe Pakistan,’ Lakhani says that “the primary objective of the first stage of ‘Breathe Pakistan’ – which concluded with the conference – was to increase awareness about the impact of climate change amongst the public, particularly the corporate sector and policymakers from the government. Through the conference, we wanted to connect stakeholders from the private and public sectors to initiate a dialogue on how Pakistan can become self-reliant when it comes to adapting to climate change and we believe we have achieved our objectives successfully.”

She adds that the second stage of the campaign will carry on the public discourse and encourage Pakistanis from all walks of life to incorporate practices that will reduce their carbon emissions. DawnMedia will also work with educational institutions in order to “instil a passion for environmental change” among young people. 

In the next stage of this critical initiative, DawnMedia will monitor the progress made on the commitments made by various stakeholders at the conference and facilitate further dialogue between the corporate sector, policymakers, and the government to encourage investment in green initiatives and climate finance. The focus will be on securing concrete commitments from the private sector with regard to climate adaptability and identifying the government support needed to drive sustainable action.

Ultimately, increasing awareness regarding climate change is crucial, especially if one considers the findings of a research study by Ipsos in Pakistan, called Climate Change Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Pakistan which was presented at the conference. The study revealed that climate change is still not considered to be a critical issue among Pakistanis. In fact, only 31% think that the environment is at a critical stage and requires urgent action, a number that is 15% below the global average of 46%. These statistics reinforce the importance of long-term campaigns such as ‘Breathe Pakistan’ to increase awareness and climate resilience in Pakistan.

Header photo: L-R: Malik Amin Aslam, former minister for Climate Change, Taimur Malik, co-Founder, Drawdown Farm, Aisha Humera Chaudhary, Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Dr Ayesha Khan, Emerging Markets and Climate Finance Specialist, Acumen and Fernanda Thomaz Da Rocha, Country Director for Pakistan, International Fund for Agricultural Development at the Breath Pakistan International Climate Change Conference. Photo: Tanveer Shahzad/White Star