Pakistan: Trade union and civil society groups gather in Lahore to demand clean air

Lahore: According to Dawn, hundreds of labor union members and civil society activists demonstrated in Lahore on Sunday, calling for cleaner air and climate justice.

The Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee (PKRC) and Labour Education Foundation (LEF) coordinated the demonstration, which began at the Lahore Press Club and proceeded to Aiwan-i-Iqbal on Egerton Road. Banners and posters emphasizing the pressing need for job security for workers impacted by climate change were carried by participants.

According to PKRC secretary-general Farooq Tariq, communities that have made the least contribution to the environmental devastation are disproportionately affected by the current crisis, which is made worse by climate change.

“While the people suffer due to the worst impacts of a crisis they did not create, wealthy nations responsible for the climate catastrophe continue to evade responsibility,” he said. He also underlined the need for climate justice for everybody, the right to clean air, and compensation for communities devastated by floods.

One of the greatest climate-related catastrophes in Pakistan’s history, the floods of 2022 killed over 1,700 people, displaced millions, and affected approximately 33 million people. With more than 60% of its power derived from coal, oil, and gas, Tariq noted that Pakistan’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy has increased the country’s susceptibility to climate change, according to Dawn.

“This dependency not only worsens climate impacts like heatwaves and floods, but also burdens the economy through rising fuel import bills,” said Khalid Mahmood of the LEF.

Mahmood promoted the switch to renewable energy, emphasizing that it might lower emissions while simultaneously generating long-term, sustainable employment.

“A just transition toward renewable energy is essential, not only to curb emissions but to create sustainable jobs and protect communities on the front line of the climate crisis,” he said.

According to Dawn, Baba Jan, the head of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Awami Workers Party (AWP), discussed the direct effects of climate change on local populations.

“The climate crisis is not a distant threat—it is already reshaping lives in regions like Gilgit-Baltistan, where glaciers are melting at an alarming rate,” he said. He emphasized that despite the detrimental effects on local residents, corporate interests continue to destroy the environment via careless resource exploitation.