Climate change a serious existential threat to people of Pakistan: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) observed that climate change is a serious existential threat to the people of Pakistan and directly affects the fundamental rights, still the recent provincial budgets have not allocated any climate fund for climate change or come up with any effective strategies.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan issued written order in the petition seeking establishment of an authority to deal with the issues arising out of climate change.

Public Interest Law Association of Pakistan Meherbano Ahsanuddin had filed a petition in the apex court making federation of Pakistan, etc as respondents.

This becomes doubly worrying as monsoon rains are round the corner and the country has still not recovered from the devastating floods of the year 2022”, says a three-page written order issued in the matter regarding the hearing held on July 1, 2024.

The court noted that all the chief secretaries, as well as, Ms Roomina Khursheed Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Ministry of Climate Change and Secretary Climate Change, and, all the officers concerned will appear before the court on the next date of hearing and apprise the court about their strategies and steps taken.

The court also appointed Ms Ayesha Khan, Regional Managing Director Acumen as amicus curiae to assist the court on the aforesaid date.

The court also directed the office to dispatch the copy of this order to the Prime Minister Secretariat so that the same be placed before the prime minister for his perusal.

The court noted in its order that Ms Roomina Khursheed Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Ministry of Climate Change and Secretary Climate Change have appeared along with Additional Attorney General and submit that five posts for Members of the Authority established under Section 5 of the Pakistan Climate Change Act, 2017 (“Act”) have been advertised and as a result 752 applications have been received, which are under process and soon the said five posts will be filled.

“Let the said exercise be completed within a fortnight from today without fail”, says the order adding that the notification of a duly constituted Authority be placed on the record on or before the next date of hearing.

During the hearing the court asked if the Ministry of Climate Change has any climate change policy in place and the effective steps taken in order to address the challenges of climate change, nothing concrete was placed before it.

The court was informed that NDMA & PDMA are looking after the matter. The court however, observed that NDMA and PDMA are disaster management institutions, while the Ministry of Climate Change has to come up with preventive policies addressing the challenges of climate change head-on.

It appears that no such policy is in place and no action on the ground has been taken”, says the court order. The court however, provided an opportunity to the Secretary Climate Change to place the relevant policy on the record and apprise the court on the next date as to what are the key challenges of climate change and what strategies and plans have been put in place by the Ministry and what action has so far been taken.

The court also heard the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan but not satisfied with their submissions and notice with concern that no material steps have been taken by the said provinces to deal with the challenges of climate change as there is no clear strategies), action plans or any adequate steps taken on the ground.

The Chief Secretaries undertake that they will submit relevant strategy/action plans to deal with the issue of climate change in their respective provinces before the next date”, says the order.

Let the said strategies clearly identify the threats/challenges of climate change in their respective provinces and steps taken to address the said challenges”, the court noted in its order.

The court asked all the Chief Secretaries whether the special budget has been allocated for the climate change in the recent provincial budgets, their reply to this question was in the negative, however, as far as, Punjab is concerned, it was pointed out that a loan of $50 million through Asian Development Bank has been obtained and parked as Climate Change Fund, however, no document in this regard was placed on the record.