On Monday 24th September 2019 Mr. Malik Amin Aslam, advisor to the prime minister on climate change delivered a talk on “Climate Change Challenges for Pakistan” at Lahore University of Management Sciences. The talk was aimed at introducing the audience with the threats, challenges and solutions for climatic changes taking place at national and international scale. Mr. Aslam briefed on how the climate changes are adversely affecting the economy and the environment in Pakistan. He outlined how the federal and municipal governments are acting to mitigate the effects of climate change. Mr. Aslam emphasized on the role of public-private partnership in combating the challenges posed by the rapidly changing climatic situation across the globe and in Pakistan. The talk was attended by a large number of viewers which included students of LUMS, students from other academic institutions, environmental activists and member of the civil society. A substantial number of representatives from media houses were also present at the occasion.
Mr. Aslam told the audience that Pakistan annually faces economic losses between USD 6-14 billion solely due to deteriorating climatic conditions in the country. He stated that Pakistan is the 7th most vulnerable country due to climate change and 2nd most vulnerable country in terms of economic losses due to poor climatic and environmental conditions. The attendees of the talk were briefed that Pakistan has substantial quantities of glacial ice in its northern regions which is melting at an accelerating rate due variations in climatic patterns. He argued that melting of the glaciers could disturb the biodiversity of the entire country and adversely influence the climatic conditions. The audience were told that as the global average temperature is increasing due to climatic changes, the temperature in Pakistan can rise by 10C more than the global average temperature. The advisor to the PM on climate change then outlined various efforts taken by the Federal and provincial governments in mitigating the effects of climate change. He briefed the audience regarding various climate related initiatives taken by Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf’s provincial government in KPK during its previous and present tenure which included billion tree tsunami, nature valuation bill, establishment of NPM authority, green mass transit and many more. It was stated by Mr. Aslam that as a result of the billion tree tsunami project in KPK, the natural forest cover in KPK has been increased by 6 percent. Mr. Aslam told the attendees that Ministry of Climate change is working with the LUMS Energy Institute to introduce the National Electric Vehicle policy with an aim to introduce emission free transportation sector in Pakistan. Importance of limiting the usage of plastic bags was also highlighted. Mr. Aslam emphasized on the importance of public-private partnership in mitigating the effects of climate change. He highlighted that participation of civil society is of paramount importance in dealing with the threats posed by climate change. Followed by the presentation by Mr. Aslam, a Question and Answer session was held in which the audience posed various questions which were answered by Mr. Aslam. Towards the conclusion of the talk, Mr. Aslam was presented by a souvenir by Registrar Lahore University of Management Sciences Dr. Tariq Jadoon.
