Islamabad, Sep 1: The PM’s Coordinator stated that MoCC & EC had proposed to the ICT administration a unique AI-based solution to improve the city’s air quality in order to make it a model environmentally-sustainable and climate-smart city of the world.
“Currently, the air quality of Islamabad is higher than interim WHO permissible limits, and the problem is getting worse because various reasons including increasing levels of emissions from gasoline and diesel-fueled vehicles,” she highlighted. Romina Khurshid Alam, the PM’s coordinator for climate change and environmental coordination (MoCC & EC), praised the actions taken by the ICT administration to transition to renewable energy and address the capital city’s vulnerability to climate change impacts.
The climate aide to the PM, Ms. Alam, explained that the suggested approach for the shift to green energy would improve the quality of the air in the capital city, lower health risks associated with it, and draw in more foreign tourists. She also mentioned that a number of policies and initiatives, including the carbon credit programme (CCP), the electric bus service, the Margalla Hills Fund (MHF), and the Climate Change Fund (CCF) have already been introduced for ICT to improve the environmental sustainability and climate resilience of Islamabad and its periperimeter areas. Romina Khurshid expressed gratitude for these measures and emphasized the significance of teamwork in reducing the effects of climate change on the capital city.
Ms. Alam emphasized, “These actions are promising a greener and more sustainable future for the residents of the capital city and the surrounding areas, setting a pioneering example in climate action.” She added, “These buses emit no pollutants, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution compared to traditional diesel-powered buses,” acknowledging that the recently introduced electric bus service in ICT is a big step towards resolving environmental problems.
She mentioned other research to support her claim that the lifecycle emissions of electric buses can be 2.5 times lower than those of diesel buses. She noted that the CCF, a first-of-its-kind initiative, will help the ICT region address environmental challenges.The Prime Minister’s aide, Romina Khurshid, referred to the CCP as part of the climate change initiative, saying that 4 to 5 million trees would be planted over 2000–10,000 kanals throughout the capital city.
Romina said that 1.5 percent of the revenue generated from recreational areas in Margalla Hills under MHF would be ensured to protect and conserve the natural resources of the Margalla Hills National Park. The PM’s aide urged the administration of other cities to follow Islamabad’s model for climate action in the cities, emphasizing the use of renewable energy, adopting electric vehicles, promoting urban forestry, and building climate-resilient structures in order to meet environmental-sustainability goals in the cities across the nation.
