Pakistan facing many climate change effects: minister

Islamabad

Pakistan is on the 135th number on the list of countries emitting carbon emissions and is moving up on the list of countries most affected by climate change. Pakistan is facing many climate change effects in the form of glacier melting, flooding, desertification and sea intrusion.

This was stated by Federal Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid on Wednesday during a meeting with Canadian High Commissioner Perry Calderwood and acting director general (South Asia) at the Canadian foreign ministry Julia Bentley.

Both sides agreed to collaborate on energy and research sector of Pakistan.

The minister said
Pakistan was taking many great initiatives on policy level to mitigate and
adapt to climate change effects.

"We formulated National Climate Change policy
in 2012 which was followed by the Climate Change Framework in 2013," he
said.

The minister also said
recently the National Assembly approved Climate
Change Act under which the Climate Change Council would be established with the prime minister as its head.

He added that the Council would approve projects related to climate change keeping in view international standards.

"Environment is a provincial subject so all these initiatives have been taken in consultation with provinces," he said.

The minister highlighted the Prime Minister’s Green Pakistan Programme to preserve forestry and wildlife sector in Pakistan.

He said many Chinese and Turkish companies were already working on energy sector in Pakistan.

The minister said Pakistan had set up the world's biggest solar energy
park of 1,000 megawatts in Pakistan.

The visitors informed the minister that many private Canadian companies were interested to invest
in solar energy sector of Pakistan.