‘More lives lost through climate change than war on terror’

Islamabad: The scale of challenges presented by climate requires legislators to devise collective agency and lead the charge on climate adaptation across Pakistan, stated Senator Sherry Rehman at a public hearing organized by the Senate Caucus for Climate Change in conjunction with Jinnah Institute and held at Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Services (PIPS), says a press release.

Senator Rehman informed that the Senate Caucus was set up with a view to convening high powered stakeholders and advocating urgent action on climate change that cuts across federal and provincial mandates. She stressed that climate indicators were worsening in Pakistan, and should not be taken as statistics alone, as they were impacting lives, livelihoods and survival for citizens everyday. Hazardous air quality has claimed more lives in 2016 alone than the war on terror; more than 5 million people are forced to live through drought conditions; disasters have cost upto $2 billion each year on average over the last two decades and Pakistan’s carbon emissions have quadrupled in 15 years. She appreciated the growing interest and participation of legislators at the Caucus, who are generating scrutiny around climate policies, and championing issues like reduced plastic usage and improving ambient air quality from the Caucus platform. Senator Rehman concluded by saying that climate change requires coordinated responses by stakeholders that go beyond bland analyses of policy frameworks, and within that, the roles of government, parliament, civil society and citizens are all critical.

Special Advisor to PM on Climate Change, Mr. Malik Amin Aslam stated that politics is lagging far behind the science of climate change, which has repeatedly shown the imminent dangers of increasing global temperatures. He informed that the Shishpar glacier in Gilgit Baltistan-has receded by 3 kilometres in 6 months, due to heat generated in another part of the world, but with catastrophic local impact. Pakistan is the 8th most vulnerable country to climate degradation, but its policies alone are no safeguard against deteriorating environmental conditions.