Climate change to slash growth significantly

Food insecurity largest threat emanating from climate change, says OICCI white paper

KARACHI:

Pakistan is sitting on a ticking time bomb of climate change. If the action plan in place is not implemented as per the timeline, it carries the potential to erode 18-20% of economic growth by 2050 and endanger the socio-economic security of millions of people.

“Food insecurity remains the largest threat emanating from climate change in the country,” a member of the civil society said while speaking at a roundtable session on the launch of a white paper on climate change titled “Synergizing the Climate Ambition: A Blueprint for Achieving NDCs through Private Sector Engagement in Pakistan”.

“The private sector has tasked itself to drive the nation out of the danger of climate change through implementing its international commitments made at COP26,” said the paper launched by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), which is a trade body of over 200 big multinational companies (MNCs) in Pakistan.

While providing the aggregate impact of climate and environmental risks, lead author of the report, Dr Hina Aslam (SDPI) said “damage from air pollution is estimated to impose an additional loss of 6.5% of GDP per year, in addition to 18-20% (cut in GDP) by 2050”.

“Climate change will account for up to 15% increase in demand for water for domestic and industrial use and could reduce GDP by 4.6% in 2047,” she added.

The paper states that Pakistan has set a target of 50% emissions (800 MtCO2 eq) reduction by 2030 at COP26 held in 2021.

“About 15% of the total proposed emissions reduction is unconditional, meaning it is something that the government of Pakistan has committed to in the absence of foreign aid. The rest of the 35% target is to be achieved subject to conditional support from bilateral and multilateral sources,” the white paper elaborated.

“Over $300 billion will be needed till 2030 to get the country (Pakistan) on a climate-resilient and sustainable pathway,” Aslam highlighted. “The investment needs are generally categorised into three brackets: mitigation, adaptation and cross-cutting,” she explained.

Agriculture and energy continue to be Pakistan’s largest emissions sources, with industrial processes, land-use change and waste following closely behind.

“The private sector cannot do it all alone and requires support from government, civil society and consumer bodies. Coordinated actions, behavioural change, financial commitments and compliance with regulatory frameworks will be needed,” said the white paper.

An educationalist suggested at the roundtable that climate change should be made part of the curriculum in schools and universities. “There is too much focus on professional degrees like MBA.”

OICCI Vice President Amir Paracha noted that Pakistan remained one of the top five most vulnerable countries to climate change, despite the fact that its contribution towards global carbon emissions stood at less than 1%.

“Developed countries are the largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions, which are damaging the planet. They have made multibillion-dollar financial commitments at COP26 and COP27 to mitigate the risk but their promises remain only on paper and have largely failed to translate into action,” he added.

OICCI Secretary General M Abdul Aleem remarked that a key outcome proposed in the white paper was the recommendation to the government to adopt three primary resolutions to mobilise climate action amongst stakeholders.

These include setting up a climate change and corporate implementation task force, establishing a steering committee that reviews and gradually raises the bar for improving the climate-related disclosures thoughtfully and developing a Pakistan climate knowledge-sharing initiative.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2022.

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