ISLAMABAD: Experts from various fields said that the role of the federal government and civil society is critical to address climate change issues direly impacting the economy, society, and politics of the country.
Pakistan has already been facing a plethora of challenges on multiple fronts, and the issue of climate change will add fuel to the fire if collective efforts are not made by the state, society and international community, the experts said while expressing their views during an online discussion on climate change, organised by Islamabad-based think-tank Center for Global and Strategic Studies.
Pakistan is already on the top 10 list of most vulnerable countries to climate change, said Rashid Aftab, a public policy and governance expert from the Riphah International University in Islamabad.
“It can cause national security threats such as poverty, food insecurity, internal population displacement, and resource scarcity among others,” he said.
The country has faced numerous weather-related disasters over the past years including floods, droughts, heatwave and cyclones, Aftab said, adding that these calamities claimed the lives of hundreds of people and damaged properties worth billions of rupees.
Yusuf Zafar, an agricultural expert at the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, said that climate change issues could increase vulnerabilities for the country’s agricultural sector and forest and water resources, on which the largest part of the economy and livelihood depends.
Agricultural productivity has witnessed a decline in recent years due to climate change, drought and crop diseases, threatening the country’s food security, Zafar said, adding that climate-smart agricultural techniques and research-based policies and measures are required to counter the new challenges.
Romina Khurshid Alam, a politician and member of the National Assembly, said that the government of Pakistan is taking serious steps to deal with the impacts of climate change and formulating robust environmental policies to minimize environmental degradation.
Pakistan is among the countries trying to reduce the impact of climate change and global warming, and suggestions from the country’s think tanks, civil society and activists would help the government to further address the issues of climate change, she said.
