Speaking at the Science Policy Conference on Climate Change here on Monday, Prime Minister Abbasi said that diversification of energy mix and shift from the furnace oil will reduce the effects of climate change, which is a serious threat to the humanity.
The government is fully exploiting renewable resources for power generation. Prime Minister Abbasi said that Pakistan fortunately has very clean energy mix as 50 percent power generation comes from gas and 20 percent from hydel and other renewable resources. While only 30 percent comes from furnace oil, coal and other are polluting fuels. The Prime Minister said that the climate change is the biggest threat and Pakistani population which is immune to the issue is now seeing its effects.
Abbasi stated, "What happened in Lahore a few weeks back is an eye opener and if we do not take action then this is just a beginning." He further said, "A few years back, we were discussing the issue and now we are seeing its impacts." He added that changes due to climate changes are very radical and obvious.
Pakistan remains responsible global citizen on the issue of climate change and being signatory of the Paris agreement, Pakistan is committed to the international obligation and is pursuing a three-pronged strategy to reduce the effects of climate change.
While explaining three-pronged strategy, he stated that the strategy is to protect the population from the effect of climate change, reduction of poverty at the same time and also to comply with the commitment to reduce emission to prevent climate change.
Abbasi said that the Pakistan is committed to all the issues the country acceded to Paris agreement and is spending 8 percent of the government budget on climate related issues. Additionally, the Parliament is also cognizant to the problem and has passed an Act in this regard. He said that two institutions - National Climate Change Authority and National Climate Change Council - have been created.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan has also adopted climate change policy and is committed to manage the natural disasters. However, there is a lot more needed to be done.
The Prime Minister stated, "We are moving in right direction and investment made in reducing the impacts of climate change is very critical for Pakistan and its responsibilities towards global commitment." He said Pakistan has ratified Paris agreement on climate change and 20 percent reduction in emission was set out in the agreement.
Abbasi said, "We, the government, are also committed to managing natural disasters the country is facing with close coordination of three institutions." He expressed the hope that more such conferences and interactions will take place to highlight the criticality of the challenge.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017