LHC forms climate change commission

LAHORE
To overcome environmental hazards, the Lahore High Court has constituted a climate change commission for effective implementation of National Climate Change Policy, 2012 (NCCP) and the framework for Implementation of Climate Change Policy (2014-2030).
Advocate Dr Pervaiz Hasan would head the 21-member commission as its chairman. The members include Secretary Ministry of Climate Change, Secretary Ministry of Water and Power, Secretary Ministry of Finance Revenue and Planning and Development, Director General of National Disaster Management Authority, Director General of International Organisation/ Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Secretary Irrigation Department, Government of Punjab, Secretary Agricultural Department, Secretary Food Department, Secretary Forest Department, Secretary Health Department, Director Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Secretary Environment Protection Department, Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, CEO & National Programme Director, LEAD Pakistan, Hamad Naqi, Director General WWF, Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, Manager Islamabad Programme Office, IUCN, Abid Solehri CEO, SDPI, Advocate Saima Amin Khawaja, Assistant Advocate General Punjab Anwaar Hussain, Advocate Mansoor Usman Awan and Irfan Tariq, DG (Environment), Ministry of Climate Change, Islamabad. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah said in his order that the commission shall have the power to co-opt any person/expert, at any stage. It can seek assistance of any federal or provincial government ministries/departments in writing and the ministries/departments concerned have been directed to render full assistance to the commission in respect of its Terms of References (ToRs).
The commission would hold its first meeting on October 1 and file a primarily report in the court on October 5. Justice Shah formed the Climate Change Commission (CCC) hearing a petition filed by an agriculturalist highlighting challenges of climate change. After hearing views of representatives from different ministries/departments, the judge observed it was quite clear that no material exercise had been done on the ground to implement the Framework. The petitioner submitted that overwhelming majority of scientists, experts, and scientific organisations related to earth sciences agreed that evidences were sufficient that climate change was real. He said no one could deny the devastating impact of increase in frequency and intensity of climate extremes.
He said the experts agreed that the major cause was human activities, which include a complex interaction with the natural environment coupled with social and economic changes that were increasing the heat trapping CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, which were increasing global temperature and in turn causing climate change. The petitioner stated that for Pakistan, climate change was no longer a distant threat as the country was already feeling and experiencing its impacts.