One fails to understand why Prime Minister Imran Khan and the authorities concerned emphasise on planting trees as the only step that would help resolve issues related to global warming and climate change. Even though the 10 billion Tree Plantation Drive in the country will significantly benefit the natural environment, it will have little effect when it comes to climate change as trees would take very many years to grow big enough to make any meaningful contribution towards reducing carbon dioxide from air.
It is evident that the authorities in Pakistan do not completely understand the dynamics of climate change even though the country is among those most affected by the ordeal. More than planting trees, authorities need to worry more about curbing the rate of carbon emission alongside pushing other countries to do the same.
Internationally, Pakistan needs to be at the forefront of fighting climate change and global warming, otherwise in a few years’ time the country will witness further increase in drastic weather conditions and natural disasters. The authorities need to extensively study global warming and understand the phenomenon in its entirety in order to know how to tackle its effects.
Sadaquat Hussain Channa
Shikarpur
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2020.
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