Climate crisis may be distant but it demands urgent steps

The Copenhagen climate moot is largely seen as a futile exercise with a clear divorce emerging between the developed and developing world, despite the call for concrete steps by a vast global majority, according to a recent survey carried by World Public Opinion.
Engulfed into its own dark clouds of politics and security woes, a much affected Pakistan has failed to get the deserved attention of its role in conference even in the local media. This is rather uncanny because Pakistan is at the receiving end of the problem than being a contributor, unlike the giants in its neighbourhood - India and China.
Although, Pakistan contributes the least in the world carbon dioxide emissions, the countrys coastal belt temperature has increased from 0.6 to 1 degree centigrade since independence, according to the United Nations. Despite contributing only a meager 0.4 percent and 1.7 percent to the global and regional carbon dioxide emissions respectively, Pakistan is ranked twelfth (12th) among the most vulnerable nations to climate change.
As they say, a country can choose its neighbours, Pakistan has faced the brunt of its geographical location with its glaciers touching the borders of China and disputed territories of India who jointly have 98 percent share of carbon emissions in the region. But even if its being created by its neighbours, Pakistan can get away by saying that the mess is not ours.
Pakistan has maintained its stance that it can only adapt to the climate change by taking steps to safeguard its land and people rather than mitigating it. This is rightly so because it is categorized in the developing countries, which is unfair given the economic size of India and China.
The biggest problem that Pakistan will face because of global warming is the melting of Himalayan glaciers, which has already started according to various studies and is only going to melt faster with the rapid pace of industrialization going around in the neighbourhood - resulting in the massive flooding of rivers in Pakistan and elsewhere.
Yet and despite the fact that Pakistan lacks adequate water reservoirs to counter such a situation, the authorities hardly seem bothered. Construction of dams has become such a controversial political issue, than an economic one - which is not just hurting the country in lieu of energy deficit, but will also bite back in the form of floods which Pakistans Metrological department expects to begin in the next 6-7 years. As distant as it may seem - but this could well become a reality in the coming years to haunt the huge population of Pakistan.
And if this picture isn horrible enough - fast forward to 2035 when the melting of glaciers will have even more drastic implications for Pakistan. No irrigation water, drought, food shortage, no exports of agriculture and live stock commodities, and massive immigration to urban areas to name a few consequences.
There is a dire need to take concrete measures now to avert the crisis. Pakistan needs to be more vocal at the international forums to present its position and should seek financial assistance to formulate and implement carbon emission policies and compensation for the loss caused by its neighbours. Meanwhile, of course, water reservoirs should be built to store the flood water. The need to build more dams is also important given the fear that India might open its flood gates - sending all that extra water towards Pakistani rivers - as it has done in the past. Whether those sitting in the power hubs take it as a problem at hand or not is yet unknown - but the odds seem unlikely. Given the short sightedness of our policy makers 25 years might be a distant issue as it won earn them the public votes just yet.