Pakistan wobbles on the edge of an environmental abyss. Classified among the nations most vulnerable to climate, it supports extreme heat, apocalyptic floods, prolonged droughts and suffocated air pollution.
The annual Smog that Egulfs Urban Centers is not simply an inconvenience, is a broader government failure. Meanwhile, rural communities observe impotent while their worlds disintegrate: the withdrawal of glaciers, the monzones become erratic and the fertile lands become dust.
However, climate change concerns continue to be a footnote, since politics dominates national discourse, arising only when the disaster attacks. A proactive approach, based on long -term resilience, is the obvious path to follow. But what are we willing to do about it?
Dawn’s ‘Breathe Pakistan’ is an attempt to make it central in the national conversation. However, Pakistan needs much more: he needs a revolution in environmental governance.
This requires unprecedented coordination among interested parties: government agencies, industry leaders, international partners, researchers, OSC and communities. The time has passed for symbolic gestures and non -binding commitments.
The forward path requires fundamental changes. First, climate change must be raised to the highest level of national security concerns, together with terrorism and economic stability. This means reviewing environmental protection frameworks with substantial fines for polluting, strict emission controls and massive investment in public transport.
Urban planning must pivot from the expansion of the concrete jungle to green development, with strict preservation of the remaining urban forests. Agriculture, both a victim and a taxpayer to climate change, also requires urgent reform.
The excessive dependence of Pakistan in water intensive crops has exhausted underground reserves. The solution lies in the introduction of drought -resistant crops varieties, the implementation of water intelligence irrigation systems and encouraging farmers to adopt climate resistant techniques. This revolution must be supported by a transition of parallel energy, taking advantage of our abundant renewable resources: solar, wind and hydroelectric energy.
The private sector, often seen as part of the problem, must be taken to the solution. Corporate responsibility on carbon footprints should not be negotiable, with tax incentives for sustainable commercial practices.
International Pakistan partners also have a role: debt relief mechanisms linked to green development, knowledge transfers and climatic financing should be expanded to help draw a sustainable path.
Environmental education needs radical reinvention. Pakistan requires comprehensive climate literacy programs integrated into school and university curricula. The media must go beyond disaster coverage to sustained environmental journalism, investigating root causes and highlighting solutions. The change begins in the base, and public participation is indispensable.
Pakistan’s survival depends on his ability to treat climate change as the defining challenge of our time. Or we act now, or give us a future of growing disasters.
Posted in Dawn, February 6, 2025
