ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change on Tuesday questioned the need for maintaining a separate Pakistan Climate Change Authority (PCCA), warning that it appeared to duplicate the mandate and expertise of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination at a time when resources available for climate governance were shrinking.
Chairing the committee meeting, Senator Sherry Rehman said the PCCA should be abolished if it failed to demonstrate distinct and measurable value beyond the functions already performed by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination.
The committee was informed that 24 posts had been sanctioned for the authority, while several technical experts associated with it had previously served in the ministry. Rehman questioned the rationale for transferring similar expertise and functions to a parallel institutional structure when the ministry itself was facing budgetary constraints.
According to the briefing, the ministry’s allocation stood at Rs2.478 billion under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), after its allocation had already been reduced from Rs3.5 billion to Rs2.7 billion in the previous fiscal year.
“The question is what additional value is this Authority creating when the functions listed under its mandate are already the responsibility of the Ministry?” Rehman said.
The committee also questioned the PCCA’s ability to mobilise international climate finance, including resources from the Green Climate Fund. Members sought clarity on whether the authority had established international linkages or financing mechanisms that could justify maintaining it as a separate institution.
Rehman directed the climate secretary to present a comprehensive justification at the committee’s next meeting, covering the authority’s mandate, financial implications, staffing and deputation arrangements, technical value addition, international linkages, climate-finance mobilisation and coordination with provincial governments.
The committee separately reviewed the growing risks associated with Pakistan’s glaciers and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs).
A UNDP official told the committee that Pakistan has more than 30,000 glaciers and that rising temperatures were accelerating glacial melt. The committee was informed that early-warning systems had been used in responding to 108 disaster events, including two GLOF incidents.
Rehman, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the briefing, saying it largely repeated information presented to the committee last year without adequately showing what had changed on the ground.
She sought greater clarity over reports that around 16 per cent of glaciers had melted and called for a forward-looking strategy to protect vulnerable communities in Pakistan’s glacial and high-mountain regions.
The Senator said future assessments of the country’s cryosphere should integrate the work of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), particularly on monitoring, early warning, preparedness and disaster-risk management.
The committee also reviewed implementation of the Islamabad Capital Territory (Prohibition of Plastic Book Covers) Act, 2026, expressing concern over weak enforcement and the continued widespread use of plastic products in the federal capital.
“Parliament is not a joke. Make sure compliance is mandatory,” Rehman said, while questioning the continued use of prohibited plastic book covers despite the legislation.
She also raised concerns over products marketed as “biodegradable” without adequate standards and verification, and called for stronger plastic collection and recycling infrastructure.
At the same time, Rehman stressed that restrictions on plastics should be accompanied by affordable alternatives, particularly for lower-income consumers who depend on inexpensive plastic packaging for everyday items such as milk and yoghurt.
“After the ban, an alternative has to be given to poor people,” she said.
The committee stressed that environmental regulation would require both effective enforcement and an enabling framework allowing manufacturers, businesses and consumers to shift towards affordable alternatives.
The meeting was attended by Senators Bushra Anjum Butt, Shazaam Durrani, Naseema Ehsan, Falak Naz, Syed Waqar Mehdi, Khalida Ateeb and Sarmad Ali, along with the Minister of State for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026