ISLAMABAD, May 15 (APP): Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam has said that global warming is adversely affecting glaciers, ecosystems, lives and livelihoods of the people in mountain regions around the world.
However, addressing the challenges of rapidly melting glaciers, loss of ecosystem and protection of lives and livelihoods was not possible without the global community join hands to tackle the drivers of the global warming, particularly containing emissions of heat-trapping gases, she added.
Chairing a meeting with Italian non-governmental organisation EvK2CNR here on Wednesday, the PM’s Coordinator observed that soaring temperatures in the mountain regions including Pakistan were accompanied by changes in seasonal weather patterns, the melting of glaciers, the thawing of permafrost, and reductions in the extent and duration of snow cover.
As a result, she added, water flows and its availability for industrial, household and agricultural uses had been shrinking and becoming increasingly unreliable.
“Initiatives, which can help slow down global warming, are direly needed to overcome devastating impacts of climate change on glaciers, mountains, ecosystems, water flows, agriculture, public health and education,” Romina stressed.
She said since the early 1900s, many glaciers around the world had been rapidly melting.
“Human activities are at the root of this phenomenon. Specifically, since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have raised temperatures, even higher in the poles, and as a result, glaciers are rapidly melting, calving off into the sea and retreating on land.”
She said that adopting sustainable means of production and consumption was key to tackle climate change and its impacts on various socio-economic sectors, particularly water, agriculture, energy, health and education.
Romina said that PM Shehbaz was fully committed towards building Pakistan’s environmental sustainability and climate resilience in all socio-economic sectors and had directed his team to leave no stone unturned to stem environmental degradation and increase the country’s endurance against devastating fallouts of climate change.
“I will pro-actively engage at all levels with all stakeholders and organisations, with reliable track-record of working and committed to help Pakistan achieve environmental sustainability goals and increase its capability to deal with impacts of global warming on the various socio-economic sectors,” the PM’s Coordinator vowed.
EvK2CNR President Agostino Da Polenza apprised the PM’s Coordinator about various initiatives being taken by his organization for the socio-economic development, uplift of education, protection of mountain ecosystems and protected or environmentally-sensitive areas in Pakistan’s mountain areas including Gilgit-Baltistan, which was home to the picturesque peaks.
He said that his organisation had also conducted various research studies in collaboration with international and Pakistani organisations on impacts of climate crisis on mountains and glaciers and suggested various policy measures to cope with the negative impacts.
The EvK2CNR president also lauded the present government’s interest in environmental conservation and protection as well as building the country’s resilience through various adaptation and mitigation measures and its interest in tapping renewable energy.
He assured the PM’s Coordinator of his organisation’s all-out support in mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change on glaciers and building resilience of the mountain ecosystems, people and their livelihoods.
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