Following last year’s devastating floods, there is a near-unanimous view within Pakistan of the threats posed by climate change, which has already had a significant impact on the country’s environmental landscape over the past decade.
According to the Climate Risk Index, Pakistan scores 87.83 out of 100, leaving it with the unenviable task of tackling the environmental threat while also pursuing Sustainable Development Goals aimed at ensuring peace and prosperity of all peoples. To achieve those, the country needs sustainable economic growth propped up with industrialization the country’s environment can ill-afford—especially as large swathes of the country remain gripped under the shroud of “unhealthy” and “hazardous” levels of smog.
Making the situation worse is the realization that despite being one of the lowest emitters in the world, Pakistan is among the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change, including intensified flooding, extreme temperatures and drought. A key reason for this is glacier melting, which has produced more than 3,000 glacier lakes in the country’s north amidst ongoing increases to global temperatures; Pakistan’s rivers are predominantly fed by the Hindu Kush-Karakoram Himalayan glaciers, whose melting reduces their traditional levels. This is especially worrying for an arid and semi-arid country with a largely agrarian—and hence highly climate-sensitive—economy. Additionally, rising summer temperatures can pose significant health concerns, including heat strokes and various water-borne diseases, reducing productivity and endangering attempts at prosperity.
What is clear to all is that it is a matter of when, not if, the next climate disaster strikes Pakistan. To counter this threat, the country’s lawmakers must devise a national climate change policy, clearly defining the roles of the federation, provincial governments, public, and private sector organizations. Authorities must also organize climate change monitoring and impact assessment activities in at-risk regions on a scientific basis, while simultaneously shifting to climate resilient infrastructure and a growing utilization of renewables, such as wind and solar power. In the north, water reservoirs can be constructed to mitigate flood losses and regulate water supply over the Indus Delta under a national water policy. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, especially given the country’s prevailing political polarization and general lack of consensus.