KARACHI:
Currently, climate change is one of the biggest global problems and is posing a serious threat to the sustainability of life on earth. Increased greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere due to the combustion of fossil fuels have polluted and increased the average temperature of the earth. Thus, changing the weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature.
In Pakistan, the impact of climate change is already becoming apparent with droughts becoming more frequent in some areas and melting glaciers. From 1999 to 2018, Pakistan lost 0.53% per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), suffered economic losses worth US$3792.52 million and witnessed nearly 152 extreme weather events. Failure to tackle climate change effectively will result in devastating consequences for the country as agricultural production will decrease, there will be an increased likelihood of coastal erosion and seawater intrusion, an increased frequency of extreme temperatures, etc.
Therefore, there is a need to speed up efforts to adapt to sustainability and reverse the impact of climate change. The government has launched the Ecosystem Restoration Initiative (ESRI) to transition towards an environmentally resilient Pakistan by mainstreaming adaptation and mitigation through environmentally targeted initiatives. These include the protection of forests, and biodiversity, enhancing the policy environment in line with the objectives of Pakistan’s National Partnership (NDC), which is a global coalition for climate action and sustainable development and achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN). These different initiatives will help promote behaviours and actions that reduce carbon emissions and induce adaptation to the impacts of climate change among the people and nature. Also, they can help highlight and accelerate solutions for climate change. Given that climate change is a global problem and will affect everyone, people should inform themselves about it and adopt sustainable and ethical practices to support the government in its efforts.
Aswah Masood
Lahore
Published in The Express Tribune, April 26th, 2022.
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