Tree tsunami far from reality: MNA

In a major blow, the government officials, after the opposition, have raised questions on the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami project and unruly working of Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC).

“Prime Minister Imran Khan has talked about the 10 Billion Tree project, but it is actually a 3.9 billion tree project,” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Tahir Sadiq said.

“Why people don’t tell the truth?” Sadiq said in the meeting of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Climate Change chaired by Munaza Hassan.

Sadiq advised that the government should only envisage projects that could turn into a reality. The opposition member Shahida Rahmani said that the Billion Tree project was disputed while the court had also raised questions on it.

Sadiq said that the MoCC had nothing to do with the Electric Vehicle (EV) policy but it formulated it.

However, he added that the remaining job is of the ministry of industries that should be given free hand to work on it. The MoCC should converge focus on the Ten Billion Tree project, Sadiq added.

MoCC Secretary said that the vision of the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami project was plantation of 10 billion trees. At this, Sadiq said that he should ask the Prime Minister to promulgate visions that can be implemented.

The secretary also briefed the committee regarding Paris Agreement. He said that 177 countries, including Pakistan, were signatories to it.

Under the pact, efforts will be made to keep the global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius while reduction of greenhouse emissions to zero by 2050.

He said that Pakistan had multiple measures to address the adverse effects of climate change including Ten Billion Tree Project, EV Policy, transition to Euro-V standard for oil import and alternative and renewable energy policy.

The secretary explained that under the alternative and renewable policy, the share of renewable energy in the energy mix will be increased by 20% by 2025 and the share of renewable energy by 30% by 2030.

In the meeting, PML-N member Shaista Pervez expressed the government had pleased Qataris so much on Houbara hunting that they could not displease them now. “What is the policy of the government now?” she asked.

At this, the Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul said that the issue of hunting licence was being probed by the Foreign Office. She told about personal efforts to get the area in DI declared a National Park to curb hunting of Haubaras.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2021.