Message From His Highness The Aga Khan
Symposium on Climate Change and the Built Environment: Promoting Resilience & Adaptation in Low-Income Settings
November 28, 2025
Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives & Deputy Chairman Planning Commission,
Mr. Musadik Masood Malik, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination,
President Sulaiman Shahabuddin,
Distinguished guests,
The challenges you are discussing at this symposium on climate change and the built environment are urgent and universal. Around the world, we see how climate change threatens lives, livelihoods, and the very foundations of human development.
This gathering, led by the Aga Khan University's Institute for Global Health & Development, is significant not only for its subject, but also for the diverse expertise it has brought together: public health professionals, engineers, architects, policymakers, climate scientists, and development practitioners. Your combined knowledge and commitment can help us understand the scale of the challenge and identify practical solutions of critical importance to low- and middle-income countries.
You meet at a time when Pakistan has once again endured devastating floods, exposing the vulnerabilities of mountain communities, downstream cities, and rural communities. Such events remind us that extreme weather may be the trigger, but it is human choices that determine the magnitude of loss. Encroachment on waterways, weak land-use planning, inadequate building standards, use of inappropriate construction materials, and chronic under-investment in essential infrastructure have magnified the risks.
Climate change is one of the greatest threat multipliers of our era. Its impacts intensify disease, malnutrition, displacement, learning loss, and poverty. These burdens fall disproportionately upon women, children, older adults, and marginalized communities. Addressing them is not optional; it is imperative for equity, stability, and sustainable development.
A central theme of this symposium is that resilience must begin where people live, learn, and work. Homes, schools, health centers, streets, and drainage systems must be designed with climate resilience in mind. Even modest, low-cost measures such as enforcing setbacks, using nature-based solutions, applying green technologies, using low carbon building materials, undertaking energy audits, and adhering to green building guidelines and construction standards, can have transformative effects.
Nowhere is climate resilience more urgent than in the health sector. Climate-ready facilities, “cool clinics," reliable green energy and water supplies, as well as safe cold chains are all essential for continuity of care. Locating facilities on safe ground can ensure they remain functional during shocks, and able to serve as platforms for early warning and community risk communication.
But infrastructure alone is not enough. Effective governance is equally critical. Recent debates in Pakistan's National Assembly highlighted that many of the losses suffered in recent years were preventable. Stronger norms, standards, and enforcement must be at the heart of efforts to protect communities.
This symposium also highlights the importance of investing in people and knowledge. We see many opportunities for the Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia to contribute to education, research, and capacity building together with their partners around the world. I am pleased that many of our collaborators from across Pakistan, Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia are present today.
Progress in addressing climate change will depend on partnership. It will depend on collaboration among governments, communities, universities, professional bodies, and the private sector. Material sciences, insulation technologies, and energy-efficient construction methods must all play a role. Above all, solutions must be cost-effective and inclusive. Vulnerable communities often hold practical knowledge of sustainable solutions. We must make sure to learn from them and with them.
The issues before us are immense. But through scientific discourse, research and partnership, we can shape a future in which our built environment strengthens resilience and reduces vulnerability. May this symposium be a step toward that future.
Thank you.
