ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a seminar, while calling to avert the 2022 like devastating climate change disaster which not only resulted in the deaths of around 2,000 people and injured thousands but also caused $30 billion in losses to the economy, stressed the need for a comprehensive action plan to deal with the matter.
Addressing a seminar titled, “Disaster Resilient Pakistan” organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), here on Thursday, they said that as per the World Bank study “Pakistan: Country Climate and Development Report”, climate- and weather-related disasters from 1992 to 2021 caused economic losses to the tune of $29.3 billion as it damaged properties, crops, and livestock, equivalent to 11.1 per cent of the 2020 GDP.
Furthermore, the devastating floods of 2022 alone caused more than $30 billion in economic losses and damages. They warned that failure to act swiftly and collectively would only aggravate the climate vulnerability of the country’s socio-economic sectors, particularly agriculture, energy, water, health and education.
Speaking as chief guest, the Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam, said the government was making all possible measures including policy measures to overcome the impacts, which have already caused irrecoverable economic losses worth trillions of rupees.
She noted that frequent disruptions in normal weather patterns overall last one decade have severely impacted the country’s agricultural productivity, posing a risk to national food, water, energy securities, livelihoods of millions, deepening hunger and malnutrition woes.
Evidence from the various reports, international financial institutions including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank suggest the country will continue to experience more adverse effects of climate change in future, including more erratic weather patterns, heightened glacial melting, paced sea-level rise and unleashing of more intense weather events such as floods and droughts. These impacts not only threaten human lives and infrastructure but also exacerbate existing socio-economic disparities, the reports highlight.
She said that as a part of climate change adaptation and mitigation policy measures, enhanced investments in resilient infrastructure, sustainable agriculture practices, efficient water management and renewable energy are imperative to build resilience against climate change-induced risks and protect the country’s vulnerable socio-economic sectors and lives and livelihoods of the climate-susceptible communities, particularly in coastal and mountain areas.
Spelling out various policy initiatives, the prime minister’s coordinator further said that as a part of climate action, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination was already implementing robust policies and implementation frameworks to cope with climate and environmental challenges including the National Environment Policy, National Climate Change Policy, National Forest Policy, the Pakistan Climate Change Act (2017), Green Building Codes.
Moreover, various projects have also been implemented under these policies and implementation frameworks such as the Scaling up of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) Risk Reduction project, the Living Indus Initiative, Recharge Pakistan and the Green Pakistan Programme, under which 2.1 billion tree saplings have already been planted across the country, Khurshid added.
She also told the seminar participants that the National Adaptation Plan of Pakistan, rolled out by the ministry in consultation with relevant provincial, national and international stakeholders, is being implemented to enhance resilience, address vulnerabilities, and mobilise climate finance, manage disaster risks by investing in early warning systems, strengthening climate governance and enhancing preparedness for effective response.
“Efforts are being made to engage the private sector by approaching financial institutions including banking, industrial sector and corporate sectors to invest in climate-resilient development programmes and projects of the government under public-private partnerships, and help strengthen the government’s climate action for making Pakistan climate-resilient,” Khurshid apprised the participants.
While highlighting the unprecedented significance of the public-private partnership for climate-resilience Pakistan, she said that as Pakistan moves on to deal with intensifying impacts of climate change despite limited financial resources and technical capacity, the private sector’s partnership with the government for collective climate action are of unprecedented significance for the climate-resilient Pakistan.
Chairman NDMA Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik briefed attendees on the establishment of a modern National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) at the NDMA.
He outlined the capabilities of NEOC, enabled by multiple satellite feeds, software and artificial intelligence tools, to generate a National Common Operating Picture (NCOP), strengthening digital risk assessment, early warning systems and preparedness strategies for Pakistan.
He emphasized the role of government and institutions in disaster risk reduction entails the need for comprehensive policies, regulatory frameworks, and cross-sector collaborations to effectively translate knowledge into actionable measures.
He urged that engaging young people not only builds future resilience but also injects fresh perspectives and innovative ideas into disaster management strategies.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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