ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan on Tuesday said that global warming, which continues to unleash devastating impacts in different parts of the world including Pakistan has emerged to be the biggest challenge of present century.
"Existence of mankind has been at stake because of climate change, it has increased frequency in flash floods, forest fires, torrential rains, led to sea-level rise, melting of glaciers at a higher pace and depleting river flows," he said.
He expressed these views while addressing the inaugural session of the three-day high-level policy workshop on "Intended Nationally Determined Contributions" (INDCs) - an initiative meant for putting the world on the carbon-free pathway that leads to sustainable development.
The workshop was organized in collaboration with Lead-Pakistan and WWF-Pakistan.
The minister said that every country has become vulnerable to the delirious effects of climate change, unfortunately the developing countries like Pakistan and the least developed like Nepal are the ones likely to be hit the hardest by the unpredictable climatic conditions.
"No wonder, the world in general and developing countries in particular have started paying the price in terms of more frequent and more intensified climate change-induced calamities, resulting in food, water and energy insecurities the world over," he remarked.
The minister said INDCs would contribute towards firming up Pakistan's contributions towards climate change.
Mushahid Ullah Khan said if the country failed to adopt rapidly changing weather patterns and mitigating the carbon missions will badly hurt its efforts to achieving sustainable development goals including poverty eradication, access to clean drinking water, adequate health facilities, safe sanitation, gender equality, education, energy, economic growth, sustainable consumption and production of natural resources, biodiversity and marine conservation.
"Nine out of ten worst climate change-induced calamities hit Pakistan during the last decade, which seriously damaged country's very initiatives for socio-economic development and caused a huge loss of the life and properties worth billions of rupees," the minister recalled and warned that such natural calamities would show increased frequency in the country.
The one single event of devastating 2010 flooding eroded away 6 percent of our GDP, he said.
As per the initial assessment of Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review Mission of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the climate change-related activities are costing Pakistan 5 to 7 percent of its annual federal budget every year, he underlined.
The federal minister said that the world is heading to the UNFCCC's 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris this year to firm up an agreement, whereby countries would be made responsible for carbon cuts on the basis of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities with Respective Capabilities (CBDRRC).
Federal Secretary of the Climate Change Ministry, Arif Ahmed Khan, said that "We are at the crossroads and climate change not only threatens sustained economic growth and development but intensifies existing political, social, economic and security challenges.
"Arif Ahmed Khan said that INDCs had been chosen as the vehicle for national contributions to the international Paris agreement. The INDCs reflect a country's "Contribution" to the global effect to reduce GHG emissions in the post-2020 period."
Among others, who spoke at the event, included Director- General Ministry of Climate Change (Environment & Climate Change), Former Director-General Pakistan Meteorological Department Dr Qamar uz Zaman, Chief Executive Lead-Pakistan Tauqeer Ali Sheikh and WWF- Pakistan's senior Director Dr Ghulam Akbar.
The event was attended by top key government officials from environment, water, energy, forest, health ministries, departments, international and local non-governmental organisations.
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