Panel of experts to advise govt on climate change

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif constituted on Tuesday an expert committee to advise the federal government on climate change issues after he was told in the first meeting of the Pakistan Climate Change Council (PCCC) that recent flood losses amounted to US$40 billion.

In the meeting, the prime minister urged the need to improve risk mapping, and capacity building to access climate finance as well as loss and damage assessment ability. The premier also stressed including risk mitigation and adaptation in disaster management strategies to reduce damages in the future.

Subsequently, PM Shehbaz directed to form a committee comprising experts on climate change which would be advising the federal government with regard to the strategies on the issues related to various aspects of climate change-related matters, for instance, climate finance, adaptation as well as loss and damage assessment.

PM Shehbaz also stressed on the need for better coordination among the federating units on environmental issues as the environment was a devolved subject after the 18th constitutional amendment.

The meeting was briefed that this year, Pakistan suffered overwhelming events like severe drought (that dried the delta area of Sindh province), forest fires, heat waves, glacier melting at three times the average rate, glacial outbreak floods followed by heavy monsoon rains, were induced by climate change.

The World Bank had estimated Pakistan’s recent flood losses at 40 Billion US Dollars, it was informed. Pakistan faced 152 extreme events related to climate change in the last two decades and there was a 300 per cent increase in Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF), the meeting was told.

It was further briefed that high-intensity heatwave persistence had increased to 41 days per year and Pakistan had the hottest cities in the world for straight three years with temperatures rising as high as 53.7 degree Celsius.

During the meeting, the PM commended the initiative of the Ministry of Climate Change with regard to the constitution of the Climate Change Council and praised the federal minister for climate change for pleading the case of Pakistan with regard to climate change, globally.

He said that climate change-induced devastating floods caused havoc across the country, especially in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.

Despite having less than 1 per cent share in the global carbon emission, Pakistan is one of the ten countries most affected by climate change, he underlined.

The participants were further briefed that the upcoming 27th Conference of Parties (COP) under the United Nations, to be held in Egypt in November 2022, would provide Pakistan with an opportunity to present its stance on vulnerability with regard to the effects of climate change, water scarcity, food security, sea level rise and increase in climate-induced migration.

The meeting was apprised that being a chair of Group 77 countries, Pakistan would also be pleading the case of the member countries with regard to the effects of climate change.

The participants of the meeting while appreciating the initiative of the federal government emphasized the need of devising a National Adaptation Plan and strict implementation of the existing Environment Laws to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The PCCC is constituted under the Pakistan Climate Change Act, of 2017.

The current PCCC was notified on 29th August 2022. The council is headed by the prime minister with 26 official and 20 non-official members. The function of the council is to advise and coordinate over Pakistan’s international commitments on climate change and environmental issues, mainstreaming climate change concerns into decision-making and implementation of comprehensive adaptation and mitigation policies.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Climate Change, Ms Sherry Rehman, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ms Marriyum Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Water Resources Syed Khursheed Shah, Federal Minister for Power Engineer Khurram Dastgir, Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, Ministers and officials of the governments of the Provinces, Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, environmental experts, lawyers, environmental journalists and members from the civil society.