Climate change and economies

Countless studies have now indicated that climate change is affecting countries around the world disproportionately. Governments have largely shied away from implementing major climate change policies. The oil and fossil fuel industry continues with business as usual despite much protest. While impact of rising sea levels, regular heatwaves, droughts and storms could lead to economic losses amounting to 4% of the global GDP — with water related disasters leading to losses of over $202 million daily — it is essential to understand that devastation and uncertainty plague some countries more than others.

This means that while the US and China might be among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, they might not be witnessing the full extent of the climate crisis firsthand. Instead, countries and small islands around the equator remain at high risk. Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa are all regions that face significant losses while Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — the worst affected by the crisis — might witness losses of 10-18% of their GDP due to wildfires, floods, major storms and heatwaves. Vulnerable economies must gear up and initiate immediate mitigation measures to curtail losses which could exponentially rise in the coming years.

The situation particularly does not look good for a Pakistan struggling with multiple challenges. Now that a new minister has been appointed, an immediate climate action plan must be formulated with careful consultation from relevant stakeholders that lays out the measures needed to combat the crisis. The five major areas that need to be covered include: environmental protection; safety of vulnerable communities; regulation of the industrial sector; mitigation of economic losses; and advocacy at the international level.

Let us hope that the new minister has enough foresightedness to understand that the consequences of climate change extend beyond environmental degradation. It will take much more than planting trees and initiating a few sustainable projects.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2022.

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