Pollution tax

KARACHI: As the government has embarked upon an austerity drive and is trying to cut down on the expenses to reduce the economic losses the country has incurred, it is unfortunate to know that in spite of all the hoo-hah, the climate change ministry is not doing enough to deal with the threat of climate change. A threat the consequences of which will be detrimental to a developing country like Pakistan which is already doing poor on health indices. Where the government is imposing taxes on smoking to reduce the expenditure on health, it should also impose taxes and regulate industrial units that dump industrial waste into water resources.

Similar steps should be taken for the vehicles on the roads as during the past few years, the easy availability of credit facility has led to an ever-increasing number of vehicles on the road resulting in massive air pollution.

Nothing can be more alarming than the statistics that make it to the news reports every day. According to a recent one, Pakistan suffered an economic loss of $384 million due to extreme weather events last year. Hence, it is about time something was done in real terms to deal with climate change.

Ammara Memon

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2018.

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