Islamabad: Michael Dowd, a former American pastor and eco-theologian, has said that Climate Change has turned into a climate bomb and could possibly lead to the collapse of human civilisation if timely action was not taken.
Dowd was addressing a roundtable discussion on “Age of adaptation: a transformed world with closing window for Climate Security” organised here by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS). Michael Dowd said that the stability of the biosphere had been on a decline for centuries and an unstoppable collapse for decades. He said that there was compelling evidence reflecting a prevailing sense of denial to accept the climate change as a reality.
Adding to the discussion, Dr Farooq, assistant professor of Meteorology, Comsats University, stressed on the improvement of data collection methods for the accurate forecasting of climate-induced disasters. There was a huge research gap regarding the link between weather patterns of Pakistan and the rising sea levels which must be addressed, he added. Arif Afridi, an environmentalist from the Ministry of Water Resources, suggested that flood water could be used for harvesting the water-intensive crops in areas facing water scarcity.
Dr Kanwar Javed, senior researcher, National Institute of Maritime Affairs (NIMA) reflected on the importance of local government bodies for the effective implementation of National Climate Change Policy. He further iterated that allocation of finances to operationalise the actions was imperative and required mobilisation of our own funds rather than relying completely on foreign assistance. Faheem Sardar, senior policy specialist, National Security Division (NSD), highlighted that Climate Change was more than an ecological threat to Pakistan, with it being used as a weapon against the country. He added that information was power and accurate information datasets were integral to draw predictive models in order to facilitate precise decision-making.
Former ambassador Nadeem Riyaz in his concluding remarks, said that the Climate Change was a national security threat to Pakistan. He said that the flow of information and policy recommendations must follow a bottom-up approach in addition to creating awareness and altering the mindsets of people regarding climate change.