Climate change: Body set to commence work from October 1

Chairman says priority areas will be identified and targets will be set for short, medium and long term goals

LAHORE:

The Climate Change Commission formed by Lahore High Court (LHC) is set to hold its first meeting on October 1.

On September 16, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah of the LHC had formed the commission to effectively implement the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP), 2012 and the Framework for Implementation of Climate Change Policy 2014-2030.

The commission has 20 members other than its chairman, Dr Pervaiz Hasan. It includes the secretaries of Ministry of Climate Change, Ministry of Water and Power, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Development.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Hasan said they would begin by looking at the work already done by various departments in the relevant areas to them.

“The climate change policy is accompanied by a very comprehensive framework for implementation that sets priority actions. They were to be met within two years of the announcement of the policy,” he said.

The framework looks at the policy implementation from 2014 to 2030. It identifies priority actions to be achieved within a two-year time period, short-term actions over five years, mid-term actions within 10 years and long-term actions within 20 years.

The priority areas deal with vast subjects relating to management of water resources, agricultural practices and creating awareness among farmers and mitigation strategies for deforestation among other things.

Hasan said lack of a monitoring mechanism for the climate change policy had been a major problem. “This is why the commission will start from the beginning. I would like to make it result-oriented by identifying departments and ensuring that they complete the tasks assigned to them over a specific time period,” he said.

He said that he had sent a letter to all members of the commission and the departments concerned with its implementation outlining priority actions.

“My advice will be to first identify areas that have not been focused on earlier and [plans that] can be implemented easily without a lot of resources,” Hammad Naqi, the World Wide Fund for Nature Pakistan director general, said. He said that water resource management was a very important issue that required immediate attention as it was related to agriculture and national economy.

He said priority actions identified in the Framework for Implementation were a good place to start.

“A major problem is the absence of a strong will on the part of the government. It is not only about creating bodies but also allocating budgets. Each year, budgets of the Climate Change Ministry and agencies are slashed,” he said.

He said that the climate change policy lacked an implementation mechanism. “We hope to take a pragmatic approach,” he said.

Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, another commission member, said: “There has been an absence of political will about climate change.”

Tauqeer said adequate funds had not been allocated for issues relating to climate change. “The Climate Change Ministry is not strong enough to ensure implementation of the policy. Coordination among departments is also an important issue. The ministry has been unable to ensure that,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2015.