The Senate, on Friday, passed the Pakistan Climate Change Bill 2017, making the country the fifth in the world to adopt a comprehensive legislation on the issue.
The legislation was passed to meet the country’s obligations under international conventions relating to climate change and address its effects.
Speaking at the occasion, Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid said that Pakistan ranks 153rd in greenhouse gas emitting countries, but it is the seventh country most vulnerable to climate-change.
He added that the country is likely to produce four times more greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, and would need $40 billion to mitigate the effects.
On February 28, Sindh Assembly member Shafi Muhammad Jamot said that the province is more prone to climate change due to its geographical location as compared to the rest of the country.
Addressing those in attendance at the launch of ‘Climate Public Expenditure Review’, Jamot said that the government has established a separate department to handle environment-related issues.
Other speakers also urged that budgetary allocations by the provincial government are insufficient to tackle threats of climate change. Pakistan is among the world’s top 10 countries vulnerable to climate change and can experience adverse impacts if the issue is not handled adequately by the government, stated another speaker.
