ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan 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.
