ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) has launched the process of preparing the country’s first ever National Adaptation Plan in a record time of six months that was facing a halt during the previous regime.
The Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman after assuming her charge in April 2022, directed the Ministry officials to convene the Climate Change Council in 100 days that never met since its creation under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, ensure continuation of the projects that were important to ensure country’s resilience and preparedness for global warming impacts and natural calamities.
The MoCC under the collective wisdom of the coalition government, within short span of six months, prepared for an international environmental moot of 27th Conference of Parties (COP-27) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Egypt and presented the case of developing countries of the global South devastated by the climate catastrophes.
The Minister directed the Ministry’s officials to ensure a disaster and climate change resilient policy that endeavours to guide the federating for improving adaptation on a priority basis.
Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman said that the country was the least source of carbon emissions at the global level. It was not its responsibility to focus mitigation being the worst impacted state at the receiving end of climate disasters rather to ensure adaptation to global warming and environmental degradation for a sustainable future.
The process started to prepare the National Adaptation Plan for building resilience to climate change aimed to reduce vulnerabilities to climatic changes by creating comprehensive medium and long term plans including the integration of adaptation measures into national policy. “Pakistan has been using nature based solutions and ecosystem based adaptation in its national efforts to build climate resilience,” the Minister said.
Moreover, a Climate Resilient Urban Policy Framework was also being formulated to work out opportunities and challenges in achieving green and resilient urban development.
The Ministry under the collective vision of the coalition government, initiated the biggest initiative of the Living Indus after consultations with the provinces in order to protect the Indus River from environmental degradation.
The World Bank study highlighted that the River Indus was facing existential threats due to environmental degradation, human intrusion and anthropogenic activities leading the water source nurturing the human civilizations of thousands of years old could hardly survive another half a century.
The Ministry while considering the rising threats and shrinking water levels in Indus River, worked on the ambitions initiative of protecting, cleaning and reviving the only lifeline of the country.
The Ministry also collaborated for the piloting of first ever Local Adaptation Plan prepared for Thatta and Chaman districts of Sindh and Balochistan respectively.
The document was based on local knowledge and expert guidance of international professionals to ensure adaptation of the climate change impacted region.
The MoCC in a unique move, lead global negotiations as Pakistan chaired the G-77 plus China group engagements at COP-27 and successfully got the long-standing initiative of loss and damage fund approved which was hailed by the world community as a much needed step led by the most impacted and vulnerable nations due to climate change.
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