A most notable achievement
Pakistan often makes an appearance in lists describing the most vulnerable nations concerning climate change. However, a recent update from the UN Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020 states that Pakistan has achieved goal 13, 10 years before its official deadline in 2030.
This groundbreaking news comes in light of several initiatives taken by the government to combat climate change and pollution in the country. The most notable of which are the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, Clean Green Pakistan Initiative, Clean Green Pakistan Index, Protected Areas Initiative, Eco-system Restoration Fund for facilitating the transition towards environmentally-resilient Pakistan by mainstreaming adaptation and mitigation through ecologically-targeted initiatives such as afforestation, biodiversity conservation, enhancing policy environment inconsistent with the objectives of Pakistan\’s Nationally Determined Contribution and attaining Land Degradation Neutrality.
Government\’s Initiatives to counter Climate Change
Goal 13 which urges nations to “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”, marks a drastic improvement from Pakistan’s general response to other goals mentioned in the charter. This provides the government and the institutions working to achieving them, the motivation to carry out more work to meet the international deadline.
Highlighting the government\’s initiatives against climate change, Adviser to the premier on climate change Malik Amin Aslam said adoption and implementation of different low carbon growth trajectory, mitigation and adaptation initiatives paved the way for the country to achieve the UN’s Climate Action Goal 13 and that, too, 10 years before the deadline.
According to the prime minister’s adviser, in the Climate Risk Index 2020, Germanwatch, a sustainable development advocacy group, ranked Pakistan in its long-term ranking fifth among the countries most affected by extreme weather events.
The Index showed Pakistan among 10 countries most affected by climate change in the last 20 years due to its geographical location. Malik Amin said given economic damages estimated at $3.8 million in the Germanwatch Index 2020, Pakistan had been ranked number three in the long-term assessment over 20 years (1999-2028).
CPEC & the future
Affordable mitigation and affordable solutions exist and need to be adopted and scaled up to enable countries to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies. “Turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that will reduce emissions and increase adaptation efforts is a key way forward as a part of viable climate action,” he said.
The prime minister’s adviser said Pakistan had also begun converting the China Pakistan Economic Corridor into the China-Pakistan Green Economic Corridor and had shelved the 2740MW imported coal projects signed by the previous government and replaced them by zero-carbon and indigenous hydel projects of 3700MW capacity.
This achievement of Pakistan should be lauded given the conditions of the pandemic and other social issues the country continues to struggle with.
