World Cities Day

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, October 31,  2021:The following is the message of the UNSG His Excellency Antonio Guterres on the occasion of World Cities Day:

Cities are hubs of innovation and human ingenuity — and potential centers for transformative action to implement the Sustainable Development Goals and build a zero-carbon, climate-resilient, and socially just world.

The theme of this year’s World Cities Day, ‘Adapting Cities for Climate Resilience’, comes at a time when cities must be more resilient than ever before. They have been epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic and are on the frontlines of the climate crisis.

Globally, over 1 billion people live in informal settlements, with 70 percent highly vulnerable to climate change. Sea level rise could put more than 800 million people in coastal cities at direct risk by 2050. Yet just 9% of climate finance to cities goes to adaptation and resilience, and cities in developing countries receive far less than those in developed countries. This must change — half of all climate finance should be dedicated to adaptation.

We need a people-centered and inclusive approach to planning, building, and managing cities. Resilient infrastructure, early warning systems, and financial instruments to mitigate risks are crucial tools as cities seek to adapt and protect the lives and livelihoods of their residents.

Cities can lead the way in recovering better from the pandemic, reducing emissions at the scale and speed the world needs, and securing a resilient future for billions.

On World Cities Day, let us renew our resolve to confront urban challenges, mitigate risks, and forge lasting solutions. Together, we can transform our cities, and thereby transform our world.

 

 

 UNDP and a call for bolder decisions for climate justice from Asia

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, October 31,  2021: United Nations Development Programme representatives from eight Asian countries have called on world leaders to take bold action to ensure climate justice for highly vulnerable developing states.  

They were speaking at the ‘Asian Pre-COP26 Dialogue’ hosted by UNDP Nepal on Friday 29 October 2021, from Namche, which lies in the shadow of Mount Everest, nearly 3600 meters above sea level.  

The event brought together heads of UNDP from Bhutan, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Laos, Maldives, and Mongolia. Over 200 development experts and climate practitioners joined the discussion to exchange country-level experiences, challenges, and innovative solutions, to tackle the climate crisis. 

“We are at crossroads now. The world is on a pathway to exceed 2.7 degrees in global warming. It is time to join forces, express solidarity, and make our voices heard,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UNDP’s Assistant Secretary-General and the Director of its Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. “Let’s say it out loud: Do not choose extinction!”     

The dialogue concluded with a strong and common message: We need bolder decisions and partnerships for climate justice, particularly climate and sustainable development finance. Such financing would help poorer and vulnerable countries that have done little to contribute to the climate crisis.  

The dialogue also emphasized the need for countries to make strong national climate pledges and step up their climate ambitions, as expressed through their “Nationally Determined Contributions” (NDCs), cut emissions, and achieve the Paris Agreement goals.   

“We are borrowing our carbon budget from our children and grandchildren. It is the youth of today that will suffer as a direct implication of our inaction and unwillingness to step up global climate action,” UNDP Nepal RR Ayshanie Medagangoda Labe. “Nepalis of yesterday did not borrow so much of today's Nepalis' carbon footprint, so today's Nepalis have the same duty to tomorrow’s Nepalis, as advocating and investing for climate harmony is everybody’s responsibility.”  

“The Himalaya is one of the most beautiful parts of the world but also severely affected by the Climate Emergency.  Yet in Ladakh, India, local communities are showing how to live in a harmony with nature and practice sustainable lifestyles. We must learn from them to leave a green and healthy planet, for our future generations,” said Shoko Noda, Resident Representative, UNDP India. 

“The world largest economies are still spending disproportionate amounts of resources on fossil fuel subsidies that are putting our climate at risk of the 1.5 degrees tipping point,” said Enrico Gaveglia, UNDP Resident Representative in the Maldives. “This is a death sentence for Small Island Developing States such as the Maldives, who are already living in a climate crisis. It’s time to bring in fossil fuel subsidy reforms and unlock climate finance to help our planet survive, with people on it. It’s now or never.” 

“Mongolia is faced with intensifying desertification and biodiversity loss. In response, the government has committed 1% of its GDP to combat climate change and deforestation, to plant one billion trees by 2030. Community engagement is essential to achieve a green, inclusive, and sustainable future,” said Elaine Conkievich, UNDP Resident Representative Mongolia. “Climate change and inequality are inextricably linked, as it is poor and vulnerable people who will mostly pay the price of inaction.  COVID-19 presents an opportunity for governments across the globe to act now to prevent the devastating consequences of climate change.”   

“We often talk about climate change as something that will happen in the future, but in northern Pakistan, it is already happening. Regular disasters are hitting many villages, caused by Glacier Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs),” said Knut Ostby, UNDP Resident Representative Pakistan. “UNDP is supporting the Government of Pakistan and the local community to respond to this situation. Climate change is here. And we need to take action and address this right now.” 

“Though not a net contributor to climate change, Lao PDR is heavily impacted by it. To combat desertification and restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by droughts and floods; UNDP and the Global Environment Facility is supporting the government in the implementation of the SAFE-Ecosystems project, to not only help increase the forest cover but also protect the endangered Eld’s Deer and biodiversity, together with the livelihoods of the people,” said Ricarda Rieger, UNDP Resident Representative in Lao PDR. 

“Although Bhutan is carbon neutral, warming global temperatures are directly affecting all aspects of life. As a small and mountainous country, Bhutan is stepping up its climate ambition through the second NDC, but it cannot solve the climate crisis on its own,” said Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, UNDP Bhutan. “The countries with financial and technical capacity need to step up to honor the Paris Agreement. The COP26 will be a platform to make decisive commitments towards zero-carbon futures.” 

“With Thailand located in the monsoon region, it is highly susceptible to extreme climate events, such as sea-level rise, flooding, cyclones, and erosion.  Climate change is impacting local tourism, agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, and natural resources while creating additional stress on land and water resources,” said UNDP Resident Representative Renaud Meyer. “To address climate change, it is critical to implement community-based solutions working collaboratively with the public and private sectors.” 

 

 

 

 

U.S. ACADEMY FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS’ SEED FUNDING ENABLES GRADUATES TO GROW BUSINESSES

U.S. ACADEMY FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS’ SEED FUNDING ENABLES GRADUATES TO GROW BUSINESSES

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, October 30,  2021: Over 30 participants competed for seed funding for their businesses at the first U.S. Mission Pakistan Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program on October 28.  A panel of judges selected the top three proposals after reviewing their business plans and hearing their pitches.  Each winner will receive $5,000, $4,000, and $3,000, respectively, to grow or launch their businesses in Pakistan.

Maryam Iqbal won first prize for her business “Global Nomad,” which promotes the crafts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  Abira Younus won the second prize for her business “Baby Steps,” a daycare and early childhood education center.  In third place, Madeeha Malik won for “Dhaaga Clothing,” which provides flexible clothing designs while offering screening services for eating disorders.

With mentoring and guidance from established Pakistani entrepreneurs, 61 female entrepreneurs graduated from the AWE program in early October.  After completing the AWE training, participants competed for seed funding to implement what they learned during the course.  Chargé d’affaires Angela P. Aggeler congratulated the graduates during the October 2 closing ceremony, stating: “Your success is Pakistan’s success, and we are proud to support you to become Pakistan’s dynamic entrepreneurs, business leaders, and economic influencers.”

AWE is centered around a three-month, rigorous online course called DreamBuilder, developed by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and U.S. natural resource company Freeport McMoran.  AWE is designed to cultivate entrepreneurial know-how, help women entrepreneurs connect with funding opportunities, enhance opportunities for business expansion, and increase the likelihood of entrepreneurial success. 

Four of the U.S. Mission Pakistan’s Lincoln Corners - public event spaces that connect Pakistanis and Americans - in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Larkana, and Peshawar led the AWE Pakistan program with support from the Pakistan American Cultural Center and the DOVE Foundation.

The AWE graduates are now part of the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN) as well as the global community of U.S. exchange program alumni.  For more information about AWE, please visit https://eca.state.gov/awe.  More information about Lincoln Corners can be found on our website: https://pk.usembassy.gov/education-culture/lincoln-corners-2/ 

 

 

 Taming your brain

Jassim Taqui

 A question is raised on how to bring about a spiritual elevation. How to control yourself, how to change, and lead a new life devoid of your bitter past. Many answers are proposed. But none seems plausible. One gets confused even as the answer is simple. And when you seek a hard course, simple answers disappear from your brain.

Therefore, you should try to tame your brain to achieve your goals.

Taming the brain happens through a thinking process. Keep on thinking but positively by postulating that you are deemed to find a way out.

People around the world have achieved wonders by thinking about matters from all walks of life.

You have to design, through the thinking process,  a methodology that proves a solution-based approach to solving your specific problem.

Re-define the undefined problems through known methods like brainstorming sessions. Most certainly, this would make you gain an empathic understanding of the problems.

Soon, you would find a vehicle that would activate the brain. You will see yourself ascending the matrix of the time-space zone. You would find subsequently that leaving the time zone causes smooth ascendency and a feeling of ecstasy that you never imagined.

Whenever the attention goes, the rest of the brain follows. In some sense, attention is your brain's boss. It is a good boss that can be modeled to train the brain. The brain is highly efficient, energy-demanding, and can absorb more energy in the quest for perfection. Tame your brain and you would achieve wonders.

 Pakistan and Germany signed debt service suspension initiative

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, October 29,  2021: On October 27, 2021, the Government of Germany, through KfW (the German Development Bank) and the Government of Pakistan, represented by the Ministry of Economic Affairs signed an agreement for the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI Phase-II) for Euro 26.213 million.

The signing of this agreement coincides with the forthcoming celebrations for the 60 years of Pakistan-Germany development cooperation. KfW maintains an active portfolio of more than Euro 600 million Financial Cooperation with Pakistan in the fields of energy and climate, governance, and training and jobs creation for sustainable economic growth.

Following the original request of the Government of Pakistan for a time-bound suspension of debt service to mitigate the health, economic and social impact of the COVID19-crisis, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Treatment of the Debt Service was signed on 9 June 2020 in Paris.

The signing of the DSSI will contribute to the much-needed relief to the Government of Pakistan to strengthen its economy because of the challenging financial conditions faced under the Covid-19 situation. In September 2020 the Government of Germany, through KfW, had already provided a debt suspension facility to the Government of Pakistan through the DSSI Phase-I, amounting to Euro 52.766 million.

The Government of Germany is also in the process of providing another debt suspension facility (DSSI Phase-3) to the Government of Pakistan for which matters are currently under discussion.

 

 

 UNICEF and Gilgit Baltistan

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, October 29,  2021: Today the Government of Gilgit Baltistan (GB) launched four equity and ten district profiles developed with support from UNICEF in Gilgit. The data will help identify the most vulnerable children living in the territory and better plan for evidence-based, equitable programmatic interventions. 

The analysis of Equity and District profiles in GB has already revealed an overall pattern of inequality between different groups and geographical areas. In particular, it found that children who belong to the lowest wealth quintile, have the least educated mothers, and live in rural areas are more vulnerable to stunting, child marriage, early childbearing, and school dropout. Moreover, the profiles highlighted differences between districts; for instance, Hunza has the highest rate of birth registration (84 percent) while Diamer has the lowest (2 percent).

 “Government of GB needs to divert resources from brick & mortar towards human development to address the inequalities highlighted in these equity and district profiles launched today," said Javed Ali Manwa, Minister for Finance, GB.

The four Equity Profiles developed for Gilgit Baltistan in partnership with the Planning and Development Department help determine whether public resources are efficiently contributing to reducing socio-economic inequalities among children and improving their lives; whether inequalities have increased or decreased; and progress against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 10 District Profiles provide the Government with reliable district-level indicators to better identify the most vulnerable families. This will help plan more efficient, integrated programmatic interventions that reach the most marginalized children and ensure equitable allocation of resources at the district level. It will also help decision-makers evaluate the performance of each district against development indicators.

 “When children do not have a fair chance in life, significant inequalities emerge between those who have the most and those who have the least. Those inequalities have significant economic, political, and social consequences,” said Ms. Aida Girma, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan. ”UNICEF commends the Government of Gilgit Baltistan for developing Equity and District profiles that go beyond statistical averages which can hide wide disparities between districts and communities. These new tools will help the Government plan smart child-centered, targeted programmatic interventions and ensure that the most vulnerable children are the first to benefit from them. UNICEF will continue to support the Government to provide every girl and boy with equitable chances of fulfilling their potential.”

Since 2017, UNICEF Pakistan has supported all provincial Bureau of Statistics and Planning and Development Departments in Pakistan to include an Equity profile analysis in the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICs). This helps ensure that resources are allocated strategically to reach the most marginalized populations first, in an equitable manner.

This is part of a 2015 initiative launched by the UNICEF regional office in South Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) to strengthen national statistical systems in the region. The goal is to improve reporting on the inequity and deprivations which children, women, and other marginalized groups face.

 

 

 UNDP and subsidizing fossil fuels

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, October 28,  2021: The world spends an astounding US$423 billion annually to subsidize fossil fuels for consumers – oil, the electricity that is generated by the burning of other fossil fuels, gas, and coal. This is four times the amount being called for to help poor countries tackle the climate crisis, one of the sticking points ahead of the COP26 global climate conference next week, according to new UN Development Programme (UNDP) research released today.

The amount spent directly on these subsidies could pay for COVID-19 vaccinations for every person in the world, or pay for three times the annual amount needed to eradicate global extreme poverty. When indirect costs, including costs to the environment, are factored into these subsidies, the figure rises to almost US$6 trillion, according to data published recently by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Instead, UNDP’s analysis highlights that these funds, paid for by taxpayers, end up deepening inequality and impeding action on climate change.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed outdated aspects of the global economy. It includes the fact that the world continues to spend billions of dollars on fossil fuel subsidies, while hundreds of millions of people live in poverty and the climate crisis accelerates. Against this backdrop, we must ask ourselves: is subsidizing fossil fuels a rational use of public money?" said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. 

Fossil fuel subsidies are both inefficient and inequitable. Across developing countries, about half of the number of public resources spent to support fossil fuel consumption benefits the richest 20 percent of the population, according to the IMF.

“Addressing fossil fuel subsidies is a politically charged issue, but the facts show that reform is both necessary, and when done correctly, supports the poor, creates jobs, and protects the planet,” said George Gray Molina, Lead Economist of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support and co-author of the research. “We hope this research will catalyze the conversation on the critical role reform can have in driving green and fair transitions in all countries.”

The report published ahead of the upcoming G20 and COP26 meetings, is being launched in the context of a growing recognition of the need for reform of fossil fuel subsidies by economists and policymakers as well as the IMF and World Bank. The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has also made a strong call for reform.

To spotlight the hugely negative effects fossil fuel subsidies have on people and the planet, UNDP has produced an engaging short film as part of a new campaign in which one of the world’s most well-known extinct animals, the dinosaur, gives a speech to the UN General Assembly urging world leaders to shift away from fossil fuel subsidies and “Don’t Choose Extinction.”

Led by a cast of celebrity voices from around the world — the Don’t Choose Extinction campaign aims to raise public awareness of how fossil fuel subsidies are canceling out significant progress to date towards ending climate change and are driving inequality by benefitting the rich.

The main contributor to the climate emergency is the energy sector which accounts for 73 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Fossil fuel subsidy reforms would contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and benefit human health and well-being, and they are a first step towards correctly pricing energy – one that reflects the ‘true and full cost of using fossil fuels to society and the environment.

But UNDP’s analysis shows that fossil fuel subsidy reforms can also be unfair and harmful for households and society if they are poorly designed. While fossil fuel subsidies tend to be an unequalising tool - as the lion’s share of the benefits concentrated among the rich - these subsidies also represent an important portion of poor peoples’ incomes that otherwise must be paid for energy consumption. Fossil fuel subsidies’ removal thus could easily become an income- and energy-impoverishing strategy. This contributes to making fossil fuels reform difficult, and imposes a key barrier to transitioning to clean and renewable energy sources.

With that in mind, UNDP’s research advocates for a progressive and gradual response to reforms. It includes analysis of success stories gathered from several countries across regions as well as offering a ‘toolkit’ for policymakers to support fossil fuel subsidy and energy pricing reforms. The toolkit allows for a phased approach that is just and equitable and includes income protection and compensation for less advantaged groups.

“When we consider how we are going to pay for the fight against climate change, fossil fuel subsidies mean that we are effectively starting at a point of minus US 423 billion dollars,” added Achim Steiner. “Reform is not easy and the transition to clean energy presents a range of difficult challenges in many countries. Indeed, each country needs to take its path. But we also know that we must move away from these energy sources that are contributing to our planet’s decline. Ending financial support for them in a way that is fair and equitable is a critical element of that transition. The recent IPCC report, which the UN Secretary-General described as a ‘code red’ for humanity, shows that only the most ambitious climate action will limit global warming to1.5 degrees Celsius. This is what science dictates is needed to avoid a climate catastrophe.”

The Don’t Choose Extinction campaign features a collective intelligence platform, the Global Mindpool, to help tackle the most important issues of our time. Linking insights from around the world - on the climate emergency, the crisis in nature, and inequality – the Global Mindpool will support UNDP to better inform and equip policymakers in government, civil society, and the private sector.

 

 

 Collin Wilson revisited

Dr. Jassim Taqui

DG Al-Bab Institute for Strategic Studies

Islamabad, October 27,  2021: The whole world lives today an era, which was predicted by the British scholar, Collin Wilson, in his famous book The outsider. The book was published way back in 1956.

Wilson conceived the character of the outsider while he was studying the works and lives of various artists including H. G. Wells (Mind at the End of Its Tether), Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, T. S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Harley Granville-Barker (The Secret Life), Hermann Hesse, T. E. Lawrence, Vincent van Gogh, Vaslav Nijinsky, George Bernard Shaw, William Blake, Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and George Gurdjieff.

Wilson explores the psyche of the Outsider, his effect on society, and society's effect on him.

On Christmas Day, 1954, alone in his room, Wilson sat down on his bed and began to write in his journal. He described his feelings as follows:

It struck me that I was in the position of so many of my favorite characters in fiction: Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov, Rilke's Malte Laurids Brigge, the young writer in Hamsun's Hunger: alone in my room, feeling cut off from the rest of society. It was not a position I relished...Yet an inner compulsion had forced me into this position of isolation. I began writing about it in my journal, trying to pin it down. And then, quite suddenly, I saw that I had the makings of a book. I turned to the back of my journal and wrote at the head of the page: 'Notes for a book The Outsider in Literature..."

 

The Outsider has been translated into over thirty languages (including Russian and Chinese) and has never been out of print since its publication day of 28 May 1956. Wilson wrote much of it in the Reading Room of the British Museum, and during this period was, for a time, living in a sleeping bag on Hampstead Heath.

The outsider is an in-depth analysis of a peculiar personality that does not affiliate with any ideology. Yet, this outsider is creative by shaping the minds of others and leading them to reject the status quo.

From the outsider emerged a multi-polar world. The outsider caused the end of a bipolar world and the disappearance of the Soviet Union. Similarly, The outsider challenges today the US's desperate attempt to create a unipolar system by imposing Anglo-Saxons as hegemon on the rest of the world.

 

 The lights of my eyes

Jassim Taqui

My blessed son, the lights of my eyes,

Joy overwhelms me, no worries, no cries,

Happy birthday, blessed in every way,

May all forces in the globe listen to you, obey,

May all weariness go way in utter dismay,

May your manly prime blossom all day,

Blessed by heaven powers, by He,

The giver of everything, humanity,

To live deep into your good heart,

that bloomed and thrived from the start,

May God, give you His light, a strong pen,

To sharpen you, making you born again,

May He give you all His traits, attributes,

In such a way that no one could dispute,

May He erases all faults, would, pardon, forgive,

Make you, tall, with pride, will always live.