Islamabad, Sep 20: Romina Khurshid Alam, the prime minister’s coordinator for climate change and environmental coordination, informed the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change on Thursday that this year’s damage was lessened since early warnings were issued in areas that are prone to flooding.
As she followed up on the suggestions from the prior meeting, she said these things.Reiterating the need of avoiding settlements in flood-prone areas was the PM’s aide. Here at Parliament House, the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination met under the direction of Senator Qurat ul Ain Marri.Senator Qurat ul Ain Marri criticized the Ministry for providing insufficient information in their briefing, pointing out that even fundamental elements are lacking, including the names of pertinent places.
Power Division representatives gave a status report on renewable energy projects during the meeting. They mentioned that 5,000 MW of renewable energy is presently being built and that plans are to add 15,000–19,000 MW of hydropower to the grid.
Senator Marri emphasized that the Ministry of Climate Change should have easy access to this data and instructed that it be provided to COP. She also demanded that the Power Division Secretary attend upcoming sessions.
Pakistan is the third-largest importer of solar energy, according to the Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination. Nevertheless, the Ministry does not have complete statistics on how much solar energy contributes to the energy system. She emphasized how crucial it is to gather precise data in order to present the COP.
Concerning the destruction brought about by climate change in Balochistan, Senator Manzoor Ahmed questioned the Ministry’s relief efforts for the impacted populace. He emphasized the devastation of houses, the uprooting of inhabitants, and the breakdown of the farming system.
He also asked about the strategy and status of the Green Balochistan program, as well as specific details regarding the Ministry’s partnerships with NGOs and other organizations in the area. 39 agreements have been signed, and the committee was informed that work is still being done with different NGOs. The Ministry also mentioned that banks are working with them to build a financial model for the policy on electric vehicles. It is anticipated that the Electric Vehicles Policy will lessen pollution in the environment.
In response to Senator Manzoor Ahmed’s request for information on melting glaciers, officials stated that although glaciers in India are melting, those in Pakistan are still stable. Climate change officials also highlighted how Pakistan’s temperatures are rising as a result of the phenomenon and revealed that two million people in Sindh reside in places that are vulnerable to flooding.
The weekly bazaar SOPs were implemented in coordination between the CDA and IWMB, in accordance with the recommendations made on July 31, 2024. These SOPs covered emergency supplies at the G6 market and the availability of goods at night. In addition, cooperative projects included cleaning up and controlling hunting and wood-cutting in Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP), as well as restoring the landscape at Pir Sohawa.
Regarding the Establishment Division’s proposal to form a special occupational group for Climate Change in the civil service, the Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC) suggested contract hiring for candidates at first, then recruiting from a new pool of talent.The recommended scale and strategy from the Ministry would be taken into consideration, the Establishment Division confirmed.
