3.

Looming Threat of Climate Change: Has Pakistan Done

Enough?

IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

1. sea-level rise
2. lack of fresh water
3. Droughts
4. Floods
5. forest fires
6. Storms
7. severe heat and cold temperatures
8. irrigation problems
9. infectious diseases
Ecosystem degradation.

IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE in PAKISTAN

1. infrastructure degradation ; One third of pakistan under
water in 2022 floods
2. disruption of water supplies ; water crisis in sindh
3. soil fertility
4. pressure on resource use.
5. Food security ; Pakistan’s domestic wheat production this
year will be reduced by 10%. US Institute of peace
6. Heatwaves ; april 2022 recorded as hottest month in 61
years

WHAT PAKISTAN HAS DONE SO FAR?

To effectively respond to the ubiquitous threats posed by climate change, the

Government of Pakistan formulated its

1. National environment action plan 2001 to tackle with environment-

poverty nexus

2. National Climate Change Policy in 2012, which was operationalized in 2013

3. later Pakistan Climate Change Act 2017 (‘CCA’).

4. Now there is an updated National Climate Change Policy of 2021.

PAKISTAN HAS NOT DONE ENOUGH

“Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change

and it has very low technical and financial capacity to adapt to its
adverse impact” – a message echoed by Prime Minister Mian Nawaz
Sharif at the Paris climate summit at the end of 2015

present-day climate change conditions in Pakistan result from either

choices that predate the independent state or conditioned post
independence policies.

1. Climate policy making is given to provinces though climate

change is international and national issue ; 18th amendment
2. Clashes between provinces regarding sharing of water and
building dams ; issue of Kalabagh dam
3. Conflict between army as a means of last resort in disaster
management and decentralized climate policy mechanism
4. Focus on impacts instead of mitigation ; NDMA only dealing
with when climate disastor occur
5. Political and bureaucratic fragmentation has dispersed the
national response towards climate change.
6. Implementation of climate policies without any oversight
(national forestry policy argues for substantial and careful
investments in conservation and planting to limit the effects of
climate change – at the same time that there has been massive
deforestation from both public actors (who engage in what is
described as “infrastructural investment”) and private actors
(occasionally described as “forest mafias”). Those who write
and oversee policy can challenge neither the public nor the
private sectors (and the latter are in effect protected by the
state).
7. Political patronage not allows climate related initiatives to be
implemented in tru spirit (local ordinances in coastal
municipalities prohibit building in sensitive environments to
conserve scarce land, preserve seawall barriers in the face of
rising sea levels, and maintain access for fishing communities.
City authorities are in no position to counter private builders
whose relationships with politicians and institutions overtake
their responsibilities, particularly under conditions of frequent
political and patronage changes)
8. Precedence of national priorities (the building of the Gwadar
port (contracted to the Government of China) on the
Balochistan coast – local laws protecting resident
communities, labor rights, and endangered habitats can be
easily ignored. The very people and habitats that the law is
meant to protect are undercut by the bureaucracy’s
 relationship to power in a particular place, at a particular
time.)
9. structural vulnerabilities of Pakistan’s bureaucratic state
(review of national disaster vulnerability noted, for example,
that no vulnerability assessments of Karachi had been
completed)
10. Exclusion of mitigation policies and left it to the northern
states ; demand of Funds to deal with impacts and
compensation
11. Focus of 2012 policy therefore reinforces the state’s
general development goals rather than structural
vulnerabilities in the society, polity, economy, or regional
relationships.
12. British irrigation practices and agricultural policies,
13. preferential tax policies for agriculturalists and
landowners, unrestrained urbanization,
14. policy practices in arenas as disparate as forestry and
water management,
15. bureaucratic and military recruitment are all rooted in
colonial policies and post-colonial politics
16. At the same time, the modern Pakistan state has, not
surprisingly and not exceptionally, embraced governance
practices that have empowered individuals and institutions
whose interests – personal, corporate, short- and long-term –
have often dictated policies
17. inforce a traditional security-oriented state
COUNTER ARGUMENTS
1. Response to climate change disasters has changed ; In Gilgit
Baltistan in 2022 in the instance of glacial melting people in
vulnerable areas shifted to safe places.
2. Addressing the causes behind climate disasters ; 2020 karachi
flood efforts were made to find the causes behind it
3. Initiatives at international level ; COP26 pakistan has
signed,methane pledge
4. Efforts towards shifting to clean source of energy ; 2018’s
government initiative to introduce electric vehicles in market
by 2030
5. Task forces to ensure tackling climate issues ; similar model to
NCOC (National command and operation centre
6. Collaboration with International organization to mitigate
climate change ; UN and PAK launched 2022 Pakistan Floods
Response Plan
7. Mobilization of civil societies and NGOs ; Alkhidmat foundation
major NGO to lead
8. Reduction of green houses ; Ten Billion Tsunami Project
9. Efficient use and management of remaining natural resources ;
National conservation strategy devised in 1993

REBUTTAL OF THE COUNTER ARGUMENTS

1. Heavy headed action on settlements increases displacement of

people
2. Resources are constrained when it comes to meliorate climat
change issues; COP26 main agenda was asking for monetary
help by global south
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Even the federal Committee on Common Interests, perhaps the
only potential adjudicatory mechanism, has yet to find a
durable role to play in resolving conflicts that are so
fundamental to climate-related challenges.
2. Competent and responsive governance is essential to craft and
protect any national policy; given the challenges of navigating
internal complexities of climate change, this is a policy arena
that demands organization and vigilance.
3. Collaborating with the private sector to identify investment
opportunities in climate change mitigation and adaptation
(e.g., green energy production, infrastructure development,
etc.). The private sector has much to gain through investment
and contracts.
4. Tracking and monitoring the progress of climate adaptation
policy implementation through data collection to ensure that
the policies are relevant and effective