The Karachi Center for Climate Change and Sohail University are jointly hosting the Urban Climate Forum titled From Systemic Climate Risk to Readiness on March 26, 2026, at the Zaki Hasan Auditorium, Medicare Hospital, Shaheed-e-Millat Road, Karachi. The forum will bring together government, academia, industry, finance, and civil society stakeholders under a Triple Helix Model aimed at moving beyond risk awareness toward structured and actionable solutions for one of Pakistan’s most climate-vulnerable cities.
The event will be inaugurated by Minister of Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho as Inaugural Chief Guest, with Guests of Honour including Tahir Hussain Sanghi, Secretary Health Sindh, and Syed Salman Shah, Director General of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority Sindh. The forum will be curated by Lead Global Expert Prof Dr Jose Antonio Puppim de Oliveira, Chair in Climate Change Governance and Global Development at the Global Development Initiative, University of Manchester, and a Coordinating Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Climate Change and Cities. With a PhD in Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, experience across more than 20 countries, and over 120 peer-reviewed publications, Dr Puppim de Oliveira is among the world’s foremost authorities on climate change governance and urban sustainability. The forum’s agenda covers a wide range of sessions including climate change and law-making in Pakistan, health risks and systemic climate challenges, water resources and solid waste management, air pollution and industrial growth, and a panel discussion on urban governance, legal, and finance gaps in Pakistan, with closing keynote remarks by Barrister Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui, Honorary Mayor of Karachi.
Key note addresses will be delivered by Zubair Channa, Secretary Sindh Environment and Climate Change, Aisha Humera Moraini, Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, and Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal, Federal Minister of State for Climate Change. The forum is supported by an extensive network of knowledge partners including the Ministry of Climate Change, Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, Transparency International, the National Incubation Center Karachi, the Directorate of Urban Regional Policy and Strategic Planning of the Government of Sindh, and the International Chamber of Commerce Pakistan, among others. The initiative contributes directly to multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals including SDG 3, 4, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, and 17, reflecting the breadth of its intended impact across health, education, economic growth, infrastructure, climate action, and institutional strengthening. For registration and further information, contact Syed Bulent Sohail at +92 300 9845534.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
