‘Despite tiny carbon footprint, Pakistan suffered huge losses’
Flood victims travel in a boat, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Talti town in Sehwan, Pakistan on September 15, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
“Pakistan contributes less than 1% to global CO2 emissions, yet it has suffered enormous human and economic losses due to climate-related disasters, “said Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel, Chairperson Board of Governors, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in his keynote address at a dialogue arranged by the Population Council on “Climate & Population at COP27” on the occasion of 23rd annual conference of the Population Association of Pakistan (PAP).
He said rapid population growth aggravated the pre-existing vulnerabilities of poor people, especially children and women and added that population was not included in the agenda of COP27, yet Pakistan floods provided a compelling background in terms of minimising the devastation of climate change by reducing the population to sustainable levels.
Kakakhel said that the world population reached the mark of 8 billion on November 15 and 2022 was also the sixth hottest year of the planet earth. The concentration of Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has now reached levels 50% higher than at the start of the industrial revolution.
The event was attended by govt officials, policymakers, civil society and development partners. It provided an opportunity to contribute to the debate about the role of the population in climate change going forward.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2022.