‘Sound transition policy needed to reduce oil, coal import bills’

Islamabad : Federal minister for climate change Senator Sherry Rehman on Tuesday said the shifting weather patterns were a cross-cutting national issue, which needed corrective measures without delay.

"We [Pakistan] face an urgency for climate financing and policy frameworks, which are more aligned to our current economic conditions,” the minister told Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union Delegation to Pakistan Thomas Seiler, who called upon her in the ministry here to discuss his organisation's support to the country against climate change.

Ms Sherry said the people struggling to manage food for themselves and their families wouldn't understand or prioritise climate action.

"There is very little public awareness [of climate change], to begin with, and we must protect the vulnerable groups. For a stable energy transition policy, we need to incentivise the general public towards renewable energy, among other things," she said.

Stressing the need for resourcing a long-term energy-transition policy, the minister said the government was prioritising unglamorous yet important actions.

"We need a sound transition policy to help reduce exorbitant oil and coal import bills. We should also look at a net-zero ambition and move towards reducing biodiversity losses. Technical capacity for creating carbon tax regimes and climate financing frameworks are also huge gaps in our policy mix," she said.

Discussing the ministry's current challenges, Ms Sherry said, "We have been dealing with the heatwave and its associated emergencies, mainly water stress and its impact on agriculture. In addition to that, heatwaves have aggravated forest fires and consumed a lot of our resources, including manpower. The new task force was set up to deal with the accelerating climate crisis in the country. However, no legislation or behaviour policing can work without citizens' buy-in."

The minister said the Climate Council would meet soon with the prime minister in the chair and all chief ministers, experts, civil society representatives and other stakeholders in attendance.

"The [Climate] Council will level up the agenda of climate and with the continued commonality of approach, we can come up with coordinated policy momentum," she said.