Languishing development

The latest Human Development Index (HDI) report has shown that Pakistan is languishing at the 154th position out of the 189 countries in the world who were evaluated. Pakistan lags far behind other South Asian nations such as India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh in the latest index. Rich countries including Norway, Ireland, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, and Germany led the rankings. The US came in at 17. The poorest countries on the earth, including Niger, the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan and Burundi had the lowest scores in the HDI measurements.

The index compares countries on indicators of health, education, and standards of living. However, this year, it included two more elements: a nation’s carbon dioxide emissions and material footprint that put enormous strain on the planet. The significance of these additions to the ranking is that projections suggest that by year 2100, the poorest countries will face up to 100 days of extreme weather events annually unless the course is corrected. One would assume that Pakistan, which is among the top five countries most affected by climate change, would be the one suffering from such weather events. In that vein, it is alarming how poor our ranking is this year.

No question that significant strides have been made to enhance the green nature of the country. Even if there's many a slip between the cup and the lip on those claims and efforts, at least some of it has translated into green cover over barren lands. Climate change is the biggest threat to not only our existence but our wellbeing as well. The government must be commended for deliberate efforts to enhance national green cover just as is its commitment to move away from coal-powered plants. However, in the absence of its efforts to offer viable alternatives, they are in danger of being seen as yet another set of hollow promises.