ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination has emphasized the need for joint cooperation of all stakeholders, governmental and non-governmental, to have a national impact to combat the climate crisis. He chaired the first meeting of the Climate Change Advisory Committee consisting of representatives of SIFC, Federal Ministry of Education, HEC, COMSATS, Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, IRS, SDPI, Planning Commission, Ministry of Power (K-Electric), NGOs. , private universities and the banking industry.
Committee members appreciated the Prime Minister’s coordinator’s initiative to create a platform for all stakeholders to work together against climate change. It was agreed that a dashboard for data collection would be established by the Ministry of Climate Change. The Prime Minister’s coordinator told the committee that he is banning the use of plastic and holding activities in five-star hotels. The Prime Minister’s Coordinator is seeking input from committee members to improve climate literacy, climate security, climate waste management and climate resilience.
The HEC chairman said that he has instructed all vice chancellors of universities to make it mandatory for every student (six million plus) and staff to plant a sapling in the university premises to contribute to the national cause. The President of the Council of Europe said that one of the biggest problems in Pakistan is the lack of a consistent approach in the country.
The Ministry of Education stated that the FDE has banned the use of plastic in schools, including kitchen gardening activities, awareness campaigns, and including climate change in the national curriculum through the national curriculum.
SIFC also shared findings on reducing pollution due to bicycles, brick kilns and felling of trees by residential communities. Electric bicycles, reviving cycle culture, introducing cement blocks instead of brick ovens and paying attention to dry days are recommended.
Thanking all the participants, the Coordinator Prime Minister said that he was saddened to hear that Pakistan is a garbage dump in European countries and wanted to change this perception and make Pakistan one of the best places in the world. All stakeholders have assured the Prime Minister’s coordinator of their full support to carry out this national task.
