It is crucial for Pakistan to acknowledge the urgent need for action to combat environmental challenges, said climate communication researcher Dr Muhammad Imran.
The message from Imran comes as the World Environment Day is being observed today, June 5. This year, the theme of the day is “Land restoration, stopping desertification and building drought resilience”.
The consequences of smog, floods, and extreme temperatures are devastating communities in the South Asian country, disrupting daily life and threatening “our very survival,” he said.
“We cannot afford to rely on ineffective measures like closing schools or distributing brochures for each smog and heatwave season.”
It’s time to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps to address climate change. Policy documents and annual statements of NDMA are not helping the communities if those are not translating into action, he pointed out.
Pakistan must urgently define the responsibilities of each institution for climate action, establish clear goals, and develop robust plans for analysis and accountability.
“I must admit that we cannot do this without civilian institutional leadership which can be held accountable for inaction,” Imran, who holds PhD degree in Community Resilience and Climate Communication, said.
The IPCC’s 2022 report underscores the severity of the situation, warning that some areas of Pakistan may become uninhabitable for humans in the near future if we fail to act.
Policy makers knew that those areas will be the one where marginalised and most poor communities are sheltered.
“This bring us to environmental justice which must be a priority in our efforts. Marginalized communities bear the brunt of environmental degradation, facing disproportionate impacts from pollution, floods, and other disasters,” he lamented.
Inaction on climate change only exacerbates existing inequalities and vulnerabilities, Dr Imran concluded.