Sustainable economy

A fresh report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated that, excluding the agricultural sector, far more jobs would be created than lost if countries manage to stick to the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The ILO report ‘Greening with Jobs’, found that policies aimed at limiting global warming below the two-degrees limit could create some 24 million jobs, enough to offset job losses of six million elsewhere.

Given the unsustainable pressure of current economic activity on the environment, a transition towards a green economy is inevitable. In addition, if current trends continue, and no action is taken to tackle climate change and environmental degradation, the Middle East and Africa would see net job losses due to their dependence on fossil fuels and mining. It is important that the countries take urgent action to train workers in the new skills sets needed for the transition to a greener economy. They must also be encouraged to provide social protections to prevent those who are unable to make the transition from falling into poverty.

Khan Faraz

Peshawar

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While Pakistan is slowly realising the importance of solar power, its progress has been rather slow. At the moment, most of the country’s power generation relies on thermal power plants whereby electricity is generated through the burning of fuels, which can prove to be extremely harmful to the environment.

The government has its focus on establishing and backing fossil fuel-based power plants. It is neglecting the country’s potential to utilise solar power. Efforts must be made to make the most of the country’s natural resource to achieve both economic and environmental benefits.

Mahnoor Janjua

Karachi