Highlighting numerous opportunities, Pakistani and German experts on climate change underlined the need for greater cooperation and concerted efforts to deal with the worsening challenge of climate change and its negative effects on human being and environment.
Barbara Unmüßig, President, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director, SDPI, and former ambassador and member of the Task Force on Climate Change, Ministry of Environment, Shafqat Kakakhel said it during SDPI special lecture on “Climate Change: Opportunities for cooperation between Pakistan and Germany” organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here. Head of Climate Change Study Centre (SDPI), Shakeel Ahmad Ramay moderated the proceedings.
Barbara Unmüßig said that a transformation in the energy supply systems was taking place and there was a need for low-carbon economy and renewable era in Pakistan and globally. She identified exchange visits particularly in the research, solid waste management projects, cleaner sources of energy such as wind and solar energy initiatives were some of the potentials for cooperation between two countries. She said that happening of climate change was apparent in the form of floods, droughts, severe storms, and hurricanes across the globe as well as in Pakistan while the country or this region was not primarily responsible for omissions severely affecting the climate. She lamented that still many scientists still don’t recognize the climate change happening as a challenge. She said that global warming was taking place at 0.8 to 2 degrees in different parts of the world. She also raised concerns over the under-estimated linkage between agriculture and climate change such as changing agriculture patterns clearly manifest this relationship. On the other hand, agriculture itself was causing climate change due to Co2 omissions, she added.
She was of the view that the climate change was a greatest challenges that we face today due to human actions involving change of life style and use of fossils fuels for economy but cautioned that the, “business as usual is no option”. “If current pace of development continues in North, the global average degree raise would be 3-4 degrees, it is up to North to reduce to the emissions of carbon to help the world to become low-carbon society” she underlined. She said that Germany was pioneer in renewable energy initiatives involving wind projects and somewhat solar energy. “Nuclear energy is no option at all due to safety, economic and proliferation perspective” she maintained adding same money can be utilized for solar and air energy.
Dr Abid Suleri was of the view that the beauty of North-South dialogues like this was to highlight a real and positive image of Pakistan to West contrary to the negative image propagated by Western media. “Such occasions provide us the opportunities of talking, listening and understanding to each other” he reiterated. He appreciated German public’s tremendous support for the disasters affected people in Pakistan during recent calamities.
Shafqat Kakakhel said that the climate change has become a global challenge as well as threat. He said that climate change was real and have caused by human actions while Co2 was basic contributor of carbon. He said that 18th century industrialist-cum-agriculture revolution has a key role in today’s happening of climate change process. He said that glacial melts and monsoons were the two key sources of irrigation water in Pakistan and the country’s majority populations remain dependent on agriculture in one way or the other. “Any drop in the irrigation water in Pakistan due to climate change will lead to disaster in agriculture which is key source of livelihoods in Pakistan and there is high vulnerability of recurrence of floods” he cautioned. He was of the view that Pakistan stands at the cross-roads today with regard to climate change challenge and the country needs an effective strategy both for mitigation and adaptation. He underscored that Germany and Pakistan need to cooperate in a better way as the challenges were extremely demanding while highlighting the possible areas of cooperation as well as making effective and operational different initiatives and agreements already done between these two countries.
Earlier, Shakeel Ramay said that climate change was a serious threat to the very existence of this planet as the frequency of disasters has increased many folds in present century. He said that global leaders were engaged in rigorous debate to chalk out appropriate and common strategy to cope with the resultant challenges of climate change. “However, there is no consensus on the way forward” he deplored. He said that the scientists were urging for quick response to avoid or minimize devastating impacts of climate change fearing that delayed response will increase the magnitude of negative impacts of climate change. He said that there was a strong need for regional and bilateral cooperation and strategy to cope with the climate change impacts.
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