US President Joe Biden has invited 40 world leaders to a climate summit to underscore the urgency and the economic benefits of stronger climate action, but ignored Pakistan whose prime minister has launched a mega climate project, the 10 Billion Tree project, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.
The two-day Leaders’ Summit on Climate will be held virtually on April 22 and 23 and will be telecasted live for public viewing.
The White House said, that, it will be a key milestone on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference this November in Glasgow.
Talking to the 24News TV channel, Special Assistant to the PM on Climate Change Amin Aslam said that Pakistan was among the two categories under which the US has invited leaders to the climate summit.
Read More: Imran Khan inaugurates Billion-Tree Honey Program
He further said the Foreign Ministry has been tasked to formally give a response regarding the climate summit.
Besides Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other leaders invited to the summit included Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
As far as the South Asian region is concerned, leaders of Bangladesh and even Bhutan were also invited to the event.
The summit will reconvene the US-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, which brings together 17 countries responsible for approximately 80 percent of global emissions and global GDP.
Biden also invited the heads of other countries that are demonstrating strong climate leadership, are especially vulnerable to climate impacts, or are charting innovative pathways to a net-zero economy. A small number of business and civil society leaders will also participate in the summit.
The summit will discuss opportunities to strengthen capacity to protect lives and livelihoods from the impacts of climate change, address the global security challenges posed by climate change and the impact on readiness, and address the role of nature-based solutions in achieving net-zero by 2050 goals.
Read More: Fires destroy thousands of Billion Tsunami trees in DI Khan
The US President invited the following leaders to participate in the Summit:
· Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Antigua, and Barbuda
· President Alberto Fernandez, Argentina
· Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia
· Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh
· Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, Bhutan
· President Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil
· Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada
· President Sebastián Piñera, Chile
· President Xi Jinping, People’s Republic of China
· President Iván Duque Márquez, Colombia
· President Félix Tshisekedi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
· Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Denmark
· President Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission
· President Charles Michel, European Council
· President Emmanuel Macron, France
· President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Gabon
· Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany
· Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India
· President Joko Widodo, Indonesia
· Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel
· Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Italy
· Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Jamaica
· Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Japan
· President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya
· President David Kabua, Republic of the Marshall Islands
· President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico
· Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand
· President Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria
· Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Norway
· President Andrzej Duda, Poland
· President Moon Jae-in, Republic of Korea
· President Vladimir Putin, The Russian Federation
· King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
· Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore
· President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa
· Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Spain
· President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey
· President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, United Arab Emirates
· Prime Minister Boris Johnson, United Kingdom
· President Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Vietnam
Read More: PM Imran highlights ‘jungle jobs’ for workers
Reports Owain Kiani
With inputs from agencies.