Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Regional Chairman and Vice President Riaz Khattak said that investment of billions of rupees is being made in the world with reference to climate change while in Pakistan, they have outdated equipment and radars.
The technical equipment and radars held by the Ministry of Climate Change for weather forecast have gone outdated as each radar had a 10-year life span while all the radars held by the Ministry are 20 years old, he said.
He said, “The climate change is a serious global challenge. The impacts are visible in the form of natural calamities and catastrophes which are badly affecting human lives around the world. Deforestation, melting glaciers, rise in sea level and rapid urbanisation all contribute to the climate change. There is little doubt that pollution, industrialisation and deforestation have added to climatic woes, producing abundant amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the environment.”
Khattak further said the launch of the Billion Tree Tsunami campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will assist in reducing the severity of climate change across the country. The ‘One Tree, One Life’ initiative, under which children are being motivated to plant trees were also appreciated.
The FPCCI vice president said that this project is aimed at not only planting a billion trees by 2018 but also shifting mindsets in the province and in Pakistan from environmental destruction towards valuing, conserving and preserving our precious natural resources.
He suggested that federal government needs to take immediate measures for latest infrastructure to realise the importance of forestation, adding “If policies merely remain on papers and are not put into implementation, they will not serve any purpose.”
