ISLAMABAD: Experts have urged the government to deal with ‘climate emergency’ in Pakistan, keeping in view the situation in Lahore where international organizations have also taken notice of growing pollution in the city.

Regarding the worsening pollution in Pakistan, climate experts gathered at the National Press Club here on Saturday to suggest measures to deal with this national issue.

One of the experts, Khan Faraz from Peshawar stated that there is a need to control the global trade of food and other agricultural products that drive forest loss by cutting down trees to make space for animals to graze and crops to grow. Ultimately, it is a continued political will that is likely to make a difference.

At least the world appears to be realising that Pakistan is facing a climate emergency, as we have to grapple with some of the most polluted cities in the world, with international monitoring bodies listing Lahore as one of the most polluted cities in the world.

The experts stated that 20-day international climate moot COP26 held in Glasgow, UK, ended with some mixed results. Diplomats from nearly 200 countries reached a final deal which could have been much better. The countries have pledged to end and reverse deforestation by 2030.

The new pledge includes nearly 20 billion dollars from private and public funds to prevent environmental degradation around the globe.

The deal gives some assurance to the world about the possibility of protecting climate from carbon emissions. It is to be added that the final ‘Glasgow Climate Pact’ is the first UN climate deal to explicitly mention the need to move away from coal power and subsidies for fossil fuels.

However, the deal also does not include a fund for ‘loss and damage’ which means irreversible and unavoidable effects of greenhouse gases, they added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021