Carbon tax on some sectors under study

The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change was informed on Wednesday that the country's water resources were depleting because of the climate change, while the government planned to impose carbon tax on certain industrial sectors.

The committee met here with its chairperson Sherry Rehman in the chair. Prime Minister's Coordinator for Climate Change Romina Khursheed Alam, officials of the climate change ministry and relevant departments attended the meeting.

The officials told the committee that Pakistan was the third country in the world to make an 'adaptation plan'. They suggested that a carbon tax on some of the industrial sectors would have many benefits. However, the chair noted that imposing carbon tax was a technical issue.

To a query from chair, Alam, the prime minister's coordinator for climate change, replied that discussions were being held with the chambers of commerce and various sectors.

The climate change ministry officials said that the water resources in Pakistan were depleting rapidly. "Water reservoirs and rivers are decreasing in the country. We want floodwater to be diverted into canals. In this regard, we are working on projects," Alam told the committee.

During the meeting, CDA officials briefed the committee on the situation of the Rawal Dam. They said that 9 million gallons of sewage water entered the dam every day, adding that the problem of pollution in the dam would be solved after the installation of a sewage treatment plant.

The chair observed that the people of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were drinking polluted water, in which even the fish could not survive. She said that the matter of the treatment plant would be taken up in the Senate session. "Rawal Dam is in dire need of cleaning," she emphasised.