Impacts of climate change: Pakistan categorised as ‘highly vulnerable’

ISLAMABAD: Environmental experts have categorized Pakistan as being “highly vulnerable” to the impacts of climate change.

Talking to the media, Khan Faraz, an environmental expert stated that climate change will continue to be the biggest drivers of policy decision-making and social change over the coming decades. The poorer countries that are more vulnerable to the destructive impacts of climate change will need more assistance from developed countries.

He said that Pakistan is categorized as being “highly vulnerable” to the impacts of climate change in a report, “The climate change crisis: Understanding the trends affecting an unpredictable future” published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The poorer countries in Africa will be hardest hit by the irreversible effects of climate change. Even if countries are able to meet the 2.0 degrees C target regarding global temperatures, the impacts of events like extreme storms, droughts, heat waves, and flooding will still be “unprecedented”.

Faraz said that Pakistan, having witnessed apocalyptic floods in 2022, has taken some notable steps to mitigate the physical impacts of climate change. Its project “Recharge Pakistan” has been approved by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which would play a pivotal role in this regard, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023