Meeting on climate plans called off

Couldn't discuss flood emergencies as Punjab sends junior officer

ISLAMABAD:

A joint meeting of three committees set up by the prime minister for developing plans to deal with Pakistan's existential issues of floods and climate change was called off on Monday when Punjab sent a junior-ranking official in a high-stakes huddle.

The meeting began under the leadership of Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal. When he asked the virtually and physically present participants to introduce themselves, it turned out that a low-grade official was there to attend the meeting on behalf of the Punjab government. Three provincial ministers, the chief secretary, environment secretary and irrigation secretary of Punjab had been invited to attend the meeting.

The planning minister confirmed the incident to The Express Tribune. "I had to call off the meeting due to the absence of any minister or senior official from the government of Punjab," said Ahsan Iqbal. He added that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was represented by its finance adviser Muzammil Aslam.

It was a joint meeting of three committees – the prime minister's committee to undertake preparatory work for the national policy dialogue, the Cabinet Committee on Agriculture & Climate Flood Emergencies and the prime minister's committee on the short-term climate action plan presented by the minister for climate change.

According to the invitation, all members of the three committees had been asked to attend the meeting in person or virtually along with the implementation status of decisions taken in earlier meetings including the joint meeting held in December.

The government has identified five main challenges and prioritised those for the development of strategic actions, including dealing with low agricultural productivity and high risks of floods and other climate disasters.

There has been great uneasiness within official circles about the lack of policy direction and the emerging challenges. Climate change vulnerability is seriously impacting water, food and economic security, according to the background working papers of those meetings.

These notes underline that Pakistan needs a coherent and integrated strategy and it should prioritise addressing climate vulnerabilities, particularly focusing on water and food security, the Green Revolution 2.0 and implementing policies for environmental sustainability and climate adaptation.

According to the Germanwatch Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is among 10 most vulnerable countries. It needs total investment of $348 billion from 2023 to 2030 to overcome climate and development challenges, according to the World Bank.

Pakistan ranked fifth among the 23 most water-insecure nations globally in 2023 and its per capita water availability dropped from 5,200 cubic metres in 1951 to 860 cubic metres in 2022, which is one of the lowest among global peers.

There is underdeveloped storage of the Indus Basin at just 10% versus world average of 40% in addition to unhampered groundwater extraction, which is causing long-term water security issues.