Govt realises climate change issue turning from bad to worse

Islamabad: The federal government has realized that the climate crisis is not going to reverse itself and collective actions have still not yielded the level of decarbonisation or resilience needed to thwart this threat.

According to the details, the latest estimates have pointed out that climate change is interacting with global trends such as unsustainable use of natural resources, growing urbanisation, social inequalities, losses and damages from extreme events and a pandemic, jeopardising future development. These estimates also showed that food insecurity in Pakistan has increased by 10%. Although the climate change has caused widespread damage, the agriculture is one of the most affected sectors. Pakistan falls in the geographical area where the productivity of crops will drop sharply.

Climate change is affecting not just rainfall intensity but also the amount of annual rainfall. Many parts of the country are receiving less than 250 mm rainfall per annum that requires further enhancement of farming and irrigation infrastructure including irrigation channels, canals, and dams for water storage.

The climate change ministry has informed the federal government that their assessment clearly shows that tackling all these different challenges involves every­one–go­­vernments, the private sector, civil society–working together to prioritise risk reduction, as well as equity and justice, in decision-making and investment. The United Nations has also clarified that no corner of the globe is immune from the devastating consequences of climate change. Rising temperatures are fuelling environmental degradation, natural disasters, weather extremes, food and water insecurity, economic disruption, conflict, and terrorism. Sea levels are rising, the Arctic is melting, coral reefs are dying, oceans are acidifying, and forests are burning.

An official has said, "The federal government is in a process to prepare annual fiscal budget and the climate change ministry is seeking enough funds to tackle the issues related to the climate change."