Report calls for solution to climate change

Islamabad : China’s solutions to climate change are more feasible for countries such as Pakistan. China’s status as a developing nation allows it to relate to the realities of other developing countries and formulate a more suitable and effective plan for tackling climate change.

This as stated in a report on climate change published by KASB Securities on a climate change seminar held ahead of the upcoming COP27.

The report says, given the disproportionately high cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from developed countries in history, “the developing countries should not face undue pressure from developed nations to take drastic steps in reducing GHG emissions”.

As of yesterday, the devastating floods in Pakistan has caused 1,739 deaths, 12,867 injured, and 33 million displaced, offering a most prominent example of the massive humanitarian costs the Global South is paying for the high carbon emissions of the North, according to Gwadar Pro on Friday. “The people of Pakistan are the victims of a grim calculus of climate injustice. Pakistan is responsible for less than 1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is paying a supersised price for manmade climate change”, noted UN Secretary-general Guterres on the General Assembly.

From a historical perspective, the cumulative GHG emissions originating from the developed world have significantly outpaced developing countries. As per IEA, from 1971 to 2020, G7 accounted for 34.5% of the world’s total GHG emissions in the energy sector. The US alone takes up 20% of the world’s total, nearly 56x higher than Pakistan.

Total cumulative emissions from US nearly 56x those from Pakistan. Source: IEA

“With 2022 already set to become one of 10 warmest years on record, there is a dire need of increased technical and financial support to combat climate change”, the report stressed.

According to the UN Adaption Gap Report, the estimated climate adaption cost was found to be 5-10 times higher than the present public adaption finance flows.

US per capital GHG emissions from energy outpaced Pakistan by 17x. Source: IEA “Climate Justice”, therefore, is what Pakistan is making case for at COP27 to be held in Egypt from 6 to 18 this month, expecting “no sidelining of these pressing matters”.

“If Pakistan emits less than 1% that causes the warming that triggers such shocks, why is assistance cast in a ‘disaster aid’ or ‘begging bowl’ basket? It should not. Right now, there is no real basket of accessible funds for climate resilient recovery, let alone disaster assistance.

Since both are triggered by climate impacts, the economic buffer for countries already in debt stress should be clearly appropriated and disbursed as climate funds that are easy to access”, Pakistani climate minister Sherry Rehman once said in an interview.

Pakistan has been pouring efforts to tackle the tremendous challenge together with the international community.

“Chinese companies and banks are best suited to finance these projects as they have already been working in Pakistan for various Power Projects”, he mentioned in an interview.

By 2030, Pakistan aims for an overwhelming share of renewables in its installed capacity

On the other side, China is encouraging the participation of Chinese companies in Pakistan’s endeavour for green, low carbon and environment-friendly development, as has been confirmed in the Joint Statement between China and Pakistan released yesterday during PM Shehbaz Sharif’s state visit to China.