n his recent visit to Pakistan, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “I have never seen climate carnage on the scale of the floods here in Pakistan. As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt. This is a global crisis. It demands a global response.”

Floods in 2010 and unusual spell of torrential rains in recent months, extraordinary melting of glaciers, severe heat waves, sea storms and cyclones, extinction of some species are clear signs of things to come.

Climate change activists are continuously talking about the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) reaching yet another threshold. GHGs are the main cause of the climate shift on the planet. This shift appears in the form of disastrous natural calamities. Pakistan emits 0.3 percent of the global GHGs by volume but has to bear the brunt of the consequences.

The US, China and India emit a major share of the GHGs.

The World Bank has anticipated the poverty rate in Pakistan at 39.3 percent, using the lower middle-income poverty rate of $3.2 per day. The rate for the upper-middle class stands at $5.5 per day for the fiscal year 2020-21. This shows that Pakistan is facing a dire economic crisis. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan has been placed fifth in the world. Pakistan lost 91,089 lives and suffered an economic loss of $81 billion and observed 152 extreme weather events from 1999 to 2019.

Pakistan is suffering from climate change despite its meager contribution to carbon emissions. The country witnesses severe climate-related natural hazards due to its geographic location and varied tropical continental climate. The recent floods have devastated the inhabitants of the affected areas. Nearly 2 million houses had been impacted by the floods by September 19.

12,700 kilometres of roads were damaged and 7.6 million people have been affected directly. The overall loss has been estimated at around $30 billion. More than 80 districts of Balochistan, Sindh and the Punjab came under water. Along with other sectors, the education system has been affected severely.
17,566 schools were damaged or destroyed by the unusual rains: 15,842 in Sindh, 544 in Balochistan and 1,180 in the Punjab.

Major crops and livelihoods in many areas have been destroyed. This has resulted in a serious threat to food security in the country. Despite being an agricultural country, Pakistan has to import grain. This will further deplete foreign reserves.

A more serious economic crisis can be averted by adopting some judicious and effective policies. First, reforms should be introduced to increase exports from the country so that the economy becomes stable. Political and economic challenges like removing barriers in the way of foreign direct investment should get special attention.

Special measures should be taken to win the trust of foreign investors in the country so that local production and employment increases. Special plans to harness renewable energy resources should be executed as soon as possible. Solar and wind energy are good options to meet the energy demands.

Climate resilient infrastructure should be a priority. Developing the human capital of the country is the need of the hour. Pakistan has one of the highest young populations in the world. It is high time to engage the youth in building climate resilient infrastructure in Pakistan.

Pakistan needs to attract more FDI in sustainable and resilient development programmes. Some special initiatives to empower the small farmers, women and labourers should be taken by the government to overcome poverty caused by climate change. These may include loans and small and medium business schemes.

The relevant authorities should control illegal construction of buildings in the path of the rivers and streams. It is time to raise awareness among citizens about dealing with the natural hazards to minimise the losses. The government should allocate budgets for dealing with unprecedented calamities so that the loss to life and property is minimised.

Precautionary measures can mitigate the effect of floods, earthquakes and storms. Building dams and water reservoirs are long-term measures to avoid natural calamities. Public participation should be a regular component of the regional development strategy.

Climate change has put people’s incomes, health, housing, infrastructure and food security at risk. The government should adhere to international best practices to alleviate the effects of natural hazards. Cooperation with international bodies should be enhanced and solid steps taken to minimise the effects of climate change.

Pakistan should demand that the UN and its affiliated bodies pay special attention to the development of basic infrastructure. Awareness campaigns should be launched to educate the people about the threats from climate change so that the common man can play his role in mitigation efforts.

The writer is a project assistant at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad. She can be reached at atiasince23@gmail.com