Causes of Climate Change

1. Generating power:

Generating electricity and heat by burning fossil fuels causes a large chunk of global emissions. Most
electricity is still generated by burning coal, oil, or gas, which produces carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.
a bit more than a quarter of electricity comes from wind, solar and other renewable sources which, emit
little to no greenhouse gases or pollutants into the air.

2. Manufacturing goods

Manufacturing and industry produce emissions, mostly from burning fossil fuels to produce energy for
making things like cement, iron, steel, electronics, plastics, clothes, and other goods. Mining and other
industrial processes also release gases, as does the construction industry. Machines used in the
manufacturing process often run-on coal, oil, or gas; and some materials, like plastics, are made from
chemicals sourced from fossil fuels. The manufacturing industry is one of the largest contributors to
greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

3. Cutting down forests

Cutting down forests to create farms or pastures, or for other reasons, causes emissions, since trees,
when they are cut, release the carbon they have been storing. Each year approximately 12 million
hectares of forest are destroyed. Since forests absorb carbon dioxide, destroying them also limits
nature’s ability to keep emissions out of the atmosphere. Deforestation, together with agriculture and
other land use changes, is responsible for roughly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.

4. Using transportation

Most cars, trucks, ships, and planes run on fossil fuels. Road vehicles account for the largest part, due to
the combustion of petroleum-based products, like gasoline, in internal combustion engines. But
emissions from ships and planes continue to grow. Transport accounts for nearly one quarter of global
energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions.

5. Producing food

Producing food causes emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases in various
ways, including through deforestation and clearing of land for agriculture and grazing, digestion by cows
and sheep, the production and use of fertilizers and manure for growing crops, and the use of energy to
run farm equipment or fishing boats, usually with fossil fuels. All this makes food production a major
contributor to climate change.

6. Powering buildings

Globally, residential and commercial buildings consume over half of all electricity. As they continue to
draw on coal, oil, and natural gas for heating and cooling, they emit significant quantities of greenhouse
gas emissions. Growing energy demand for heating and cooling, with rising air-conditioner ownership, as
well as increased electricity consumption for lighting, appliances, and connected devices, has
contributed to a rise in energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions from buildings in recent years.
 7. Consuming too much

Your home and use of power, how you move around, what you eat and how much you throw away all
contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. So does the consumption of goods such as clothing, electronics,
and plastics. A large chunk of global greenhouse gas emissions is linked to private households. Our
lifestyles have a profound impact on our planet. The wealthiest bear the greatest responsibility: the
richest 1 per cent of the global population combined account for more greenhouse gas emissions than
the poorest 50 per cent.

8. Pollution

“Burning fossil fuels releases gases and chemicals into the air.” And in an especially destructive feedback
loop, air pollution not only contributes to climate change but is also exacerbated by it. “Air pollution in
the form of carbon dioxide and methane raises the earth’s temperature,” Walke says

Effects of Climate Change

1. Hotter temperatures

As greenhouse gas concentrations rise, so does the global surface temperature. The last decade, 2011-
2020, is the warmest on record. Since the 1980s, each decade has been warmer than the previous one.
Nearly all land areas are seeing more hot days and heat waves. Higher temperatures increase heat-
related illnesses and make working outdoors more difficult. Wildfires start more easily and spread more
rapidly when conditions are hotter.

2. More severe storms

Destructive storms have become more intense and more frequent in many regions. As temperatures
rise, more moisture evaporates, which exacerbates extreme rainfall and flooding, causing more
destructive storms. The frequency and extent of tropical storms is also affected by the warming ocean.
Cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons feed on warm waters at the ocean surface. Such storms often
destroy homes and communities, causing deaths and huge economic losses.

3. Increased drought

Global warming exacerbates water shortages in already water-stressed regions and is leading to an
increased risk of agricultural droughts affecting crops, and ecological droughts increasing the
vulnerability of ecosystems. Droughts can also stir destructive sand and dust storms that can move
billions of tons of sand across continents. Deserts are expanding, reducing land for growing food.

4. A warming, rising ocean

The ocean soaks up most of the heat from global warming. As the ocean warms, its volume increases
since water expands as it gets warmer. Melting ice sheets also cause sea levels to rise, threatening
coastal and island communities. In addition, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, keeping it from the
atmosphere. But more carbon dioxide makes the ocean more acidic, which endangers marine life and
coral reefs.

5. Poverty and displacement Climate change increases the factors that put and keep people in
poverty. Floods may sweep away urban slums, destroying homes and livelihoods. Heat can make
it difficult to work in outdoor jobs. Most refugees come from countries that are most vulnerable
and least ready to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

6. More health risks

Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. Climate impacts are already harming
health, through air pollution, disease, extreme weather events, forced displacement, pressures on
mental health, and increased hunger and poor nutrition in places where people cannot grow or find
sufficient food.

7. Loss of species

Climate change poses risks to the survival of species on land and in the ocean. Exacerbated by climate
change, the world is losing species at a rate 1,000 times greater than at any other time in recorded
human history. Forest fires, extreme weather, and invasive pests and diseases are among many threats
related to climate change. Some species will be able to relocate and survive, but others will not.

8. Not enough food

Changes in the climate and increases in extreme weather events are among the reasons behind a global
rise in hunger and poor nutrition. Fisheries, crops, and livestock may be destroyed or become less
productive. With the ocean becoming more acidic, marine resources that feed billions of people are at
risk. Heat stress can diminish water and grasslands for grazing, causing declining crop yields and
affecting livestock.

How to tackle it:

 The government has the responsibility to take actions and make its people aware of the change
in weather.
 The dams should be built to save water in them for the future.
 The policies need to be implemented in all sectors of economic activity, to develop the economy
of Pakistan to a high level.
 The government needs to introduce a new energy source for transport so that no smoke will be
produced.
 All the industries need to put the filters on their chimneys so that the dangerous and poisonous
gases do not pollute the atmosphere.
 The most important thing which the government needs to focus on is plantation.
 Plantation is very important to stop global warming to decrease the production of carbon
dioxide and other harmful gases.
 Deforestation will lead to the production of more carbon dioxide and the rise of temperature.
BENEFITS OF INTERDEPENDENCE.

 The benefits of interdependence can be expressed as zero-sum and non-zero sum, zero sum is a
situation whereby one’s gain is the other’s loss and positive sum situation both sides gain in a
negative situation both sides lose
 Some liberal economists only think of interdependence in the aspect of positive gain (joint gain)
in which everyone benefits and failed to pay attention to the political aspects of
interdependence.
 Also, some liberal analysts thinks that globalization make the world more interconnected and
that cooperation will replace competition among the states because they believe that
interdependence creates joint benefit which encourages cooperation but states are more
concerned with their absolute gain from interdependence than relative gain.
 And lastly interdependence mixes domestic and foreign issues together which gives rise to much
more complex coalition and more pattern of conflict and different distribution of benefits than
in the past.

Characteristics:
MULTIPLE CHANNELS:

In international politics there are multiple channels connecting the societies, including all the interstate,
transgovermental , and transnational transactions .In the complex world of interdependence not only
formal and informal interaction between governmental elites are a source of connecting societies but
informal ties among non-governmental elites and transnational organization are gaining more and more
importance . Multinational firms and banks have a great impact on the domestic as well as interstate
relations.

ABSENCE OF HIERARCHY AMONG ISSUES:

In the world of complex independence, there is so hierarchy among the issues. The dividing line
between domestic and foreign policy becomes blurred and there is no clear agenda in interstate
relations. There are multiple issues which are not arranged in a clear or consistent hierarchy. Among
other things, “military security does not consistently dominate the agenda”.

MINOR ROLE OF MILITARY FORCE:

The concept of safety has to be broadened beyond the concept of the security dilemma. When complex
interdependence prevails, military force could be irrelevant in resolving disagreements on economic
issues among members of an alliance, however simultaneously be very important for the alliance's
political and military relations with its rival bloc.
Balance of power, in international relations, the posture and policy of a nation or group of nations
protecting itself against another nation or group of nations by matching its power against the power of
the other side. The balance of power theory in international relations suggests that states may secure
their survival by preventing any one state from gaining enough military power to dominate all others.

HOW BOP SYSTEM WORKS?

If state A increases its power, state B must try to equalize it by increasing its own power. If B alone
cannot match A’s might, it can join other states and together they can reduce the power of A, i.e.,
formation of alliances.

Five Principal Assumptions:

(1) Firstly, Balance of Power assumes that states are determined to protect their vital rights and
interests by all means, including war.

(2) Secondly, vital interests of the states are threatened.

(3) The relative power position of states can be measured with a degree of accuracy.

(4) Balance of Power assumes that “balance” will either deter the threatening state from launching an
attack or permit the victim to avoid defeat if an attack should occur.

(5) The statesmen can, and they do make foreign policy decisions intelligently on basis of power
considerations.

Two types:

Simple Balance: A balance that exist between two states or any groups or states. The number in each
group may differ but the overall power is balanced between the two groups. Iran, Iraq War, Indo-Pak
Warfare’s, Communist Block v/s Capitalist Block.

Multiple Balance: Balance exists among many nations or among different groups of nations. For
Example, France, Britain, Prussia, Russia, Austria, Hungary

Methods of maintaining balance of power:

1. Alliances and counter alliances.
2. Armament and disarmament.
3. Compensation
4. Intervention and war
5. Divide and rule
6. Buffer state
7. Partition
Non-traditional security (NTS) threats are the challenges to the survival and wellbeing of
people and states that arise primary out of non-military sources.

1. Water Crisis

Water is the foundation of life and necessity for everyone. However, it is becoming an
increasingly scarce and degraded natural resource for millions of the world’s populations.
Water shortages can lead to ecosystem degradation, worsening health and destruction of
livelihood. The number of deaths and economic damage caused by water-related disasters such
as floods, droughts, landslides, and land subsidence has increased dramatically. Flooding is one
of the most damaging natural disasters in the world. Floods are often seen as a natural
phenomenon due to extreme weather events. As the human population grows and economic
activity grows, water degradation has become a global concern. Poor water quality, which
makes water unfit for use, has multiple health and environmental consequences, and further
reduces water availability. Contamination of the surface and groundwater is becoming one of
the biggest threats to the available fresh water.
Environmental Issues:

The quality of the environment is a foundation for any country’s long-term development. The country’s
economy is improving with the passage of time, but environmental issues must be addressed. The
standard of living and the quality of life still need a lot of improvement.

Climate change

Deforestation

Deforestation refers to the loss of forest areas that occurs when humans cut down trees to obtain wood
and fuel but do not replant them. Urbanization, growing population, and rapid expansion of cities are
also among the leading causes of deforestation in Pakistan.

Air Pollution

Air pollution can be defined as the presence of toxic solid and liquid particles in the air along with
certain gases that are harmful to the environment. This type of pollution is mainly caused by the burning
of fossil fuels for transportation and the production of electricity.

Water Pollution

Water pollution is caused when toxic substances such as chemicals, waste, and certain microorganisms
contaminate a body of water, rendering it harmful for human use or consumption. Drinking from
polluted streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds, or using its water to bathe or cook, can be extremely harmful
to one’s health.

Natural Disaster

Due to Pakistan's diverse land and climatic conditions, it is prone to different forms of natural disasters,
including earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, droughts, cyclones and hurricanes.
Land pollution

We don’t have a proper waste disposal system, most of it is either burned, which causes air
pollution or buried on vacant land, causing soil erosion. Moreover, the rest of the waste is just
dumped on empty lots, damaging the environment and leading to land pollution. Urbanization
and the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides are also some of the major causes of land
pollution in Pakistan.
Global warming
Pakistan is one of the biggest victims of global warming in the world. The heatwaves and cold snaps that
we have been suffering for the past several years are all due to increased global warming. The main
reason behind this is the emission of fossil fuels.

Cyber-Attacks

Pakistan has developed enough physical security to protect its nuclear weapons, but it is the most
vulnerable to cyber-attacks, which are declared as new types of warfare. Pakistan’s banks were already
attacked in 2018 when hackers stole around Rs 2.6 million via Debit card of Bank Islamic. Pakistan’s
sensitive and confidential governmental records are at the risk of being stolen by cyber-attacks that
could cause a major damage.

Human Trafficking

Pakistan is a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor, particularly
from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Traffickers exploit women and girls—and, to a lesser
extent, boys—from Afghanistan, Iran, and other Asian countries in sex trafficking in Pakistan.

Drug Trafficking

According to a report on drugs (2008), total drug users were 6,28000 out of which 50,0000 were of
heroin addicts. While as per up-to-date report, 4 million people are addicted to heroin in Pakistan.

Drug traffickers are running parallel economy and they are investing in real estate as well as in politics to
legitimize their money. Drug trafficking is also reason to Crime and prostitution. The proximity of age
limit of addicts is between 26 to 30 in Pakistan.

Poor Economic status of Pakistan

Pakistan’s poor economic position is the most immediate and pressing threat to the survival of the
country. At present, the country does not have enough money collected from taxes to fulfill its
expenditure. As a result, it is pushed to take loans every year from the international donors to fulfill its
expenditure.

Rain

Torrential rains have caused massive damages to people, their livestock and to the standing crops across
the country. As per the official data, 33 million people have been affected by these unprecedented rains.

Unemployment, Shortage of food