Day: August 20, 2022

Islamabad, August 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Ministry of Climate Change, in collaboration with WWF-Pakistan, organized a project inception workshop at Serena Hotel, Islamabad, to launch the ‘Preparation of Pakistan’s Third National Communication (TNC) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’, and create awareness among relevant stakeholders about its key components and themes.

Pakistan ratified the UNFCCC in June 1994 and was among the first South Asian countries which realized the need to control the anthropogenic contribution to global climate change and the need to respond effectively to its adverse impact. Under Article 4(1) of the UNFCCC, each party is required to submit periodic ‘national communications’, reporting an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks, a general description of measures taken or envisaged by the Convention and any other information considered relevant to its objectives.

This TNC will be a follow-up from the Second National Communication that was submitted by Pakistan in 2019 and the First Biennial Update Report, submitted in April 2022 to the UNFCCC. It will entail how the country has been implementing the Convention, whilst also highlighting critical issues, constraints and capacity requirements for climate mitigation and adaptation.

During this opening statement, Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General WWF-Pakistan said that “In the last few months alone, we have witnessed heat waves, forest fires, GLOFs, and altered rainfall patterns- all manifestations of climate change. This is why it is extremely important that this exercise is done to revisit our policies and strategies, identify gaps, and try to plug them to mitigate and adapt to the realities we are facing today.”

The main implementing partners, including Global Change Impact Study Centre (GCISC), National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA), Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET) and WWF-Pakistan gave an overview of their planned project activities under seven thematic working groups of the TNC.

Speaking at the event, Joudat Ayaz, Additional Secretary Ministry of Climate Change shared that if steps were not taken to control climate change, by 2100, our coastline would be somewhere between Karachi and Hyderabad, resulting in environmental crises and massive internal migration. He also added that till last year, Pakistan saw an average of four to five GLOF events, whereas this year alone, there have been 17 such events.

“Till about a decade ago, it was thought that environmentally sustainable policies and actions are a priority for rich countries. But it is equally important for developing countries. At the national level, the MoCC is prioritizing this and has initiated programmes like TBTTP, restoration of mangrove forests, the Clean Green Pakistan movement, the global methane pledge, the electric vehicle policy, etc.”

In the closing remarks, Muhammad Farooq, Joint Secretary Development, Ministry of Climate Change said “Mitigation and adaptation remain the top challenges for us. While we are addressing the mitigation side through a number of projects, we need to work hard on adaptation, specifically at the provincial and local levels where people in the lowest strata of society are suffering the consequences of climate change. Similarly, on the governance side, we need to work more on coordination and implementation.”

The one-day event was attended by relevant departments of ministries, including but not limited to the Ministries of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, National Food Security and Research, and Water Resources; public/private organizations, INGOs/NGOs, and academia.

For more information, contact:
Head Office,
WWF – Pakistan
P.O. Box 5180, Ferozepur Road, Lahore, Pakistan
UAN: +92-42-111-993-725
Tel: +92-42-35855145-50
Fax: +92-42-35862358
E-mail: info@wwf.org.pk
Website: http://www.wwfpak.org/

Karachi, August 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):Smart and innovative solutions to conserve water, energy and other natural resources in textile and leather sectors can help reduce adverse environmental impacts, provide cost-saving opportunities and enhance overall revenue of industries. These solutions should be implemented in the industrial sector at a larger scale across Pakistan’.

This was stated by speakers during the media briefing workshop organized by WWF-Pakistan under its 6-year International Labour and Environmental Standards Application in Pakistan’s SMEs (ILES) project, funded by the European Union.

The project is implemented in four major cities across Pakistan; which include Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot; and aims to support the economic integration of Pakistan into the global and regional economy by increasing exports through improved compliance and gaining confidence of international buyers.

Speaking on the occasion, Rashid Ahmed, Manager ILES WWF-Pakistan shared the project’s successes and highlighted that the project contributed towards the reduction of carbon emissions and chemical usage and promoted the efficient use of energy resources.

He further said that over 21 textile and leather industries in Pakistan have collectively saved 226.39 million rupees by implementing sustainable environmental management practices introduced by these initiatives. To enforce environmental laws and standards in Pakistan, the project built the capacity of relevant government officials and financial institutes.

Textile and leather sectors, despite being the two largest export earning sectors of the country, face several challenges such as compliance issues, availability of the raw material, and international market competition. He lauded the efforts of the government for approving a new textile policy, which envisages to double its export target up to USD 42 billion over the next three years.

Ashiq Ali Langah, Director Technical, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) said that the agency, in collaboration with WWF-Pakistan, has drafted the Cleaner Production Policy which is the first of its kind in the industrial history of Pakistan.

He said that the policy aims at providing technical and professional support to industries to adopt sustainable practices, environmentally sound processes and equipment in line with international standards. He was of the view that Sindh faces several environmental challenges but consolidated efforts are required to tackle them in time. He emphasized on the need to improve the law enforcement mechanism in the province.

Furqan Ullah, Manager Compliance and Sustainability at one of the leading textile industries shared that the textile industry is facing multiple challenges, including gaps in environmental laws, lack of guidelines on carbon emissions, poor handling of resources and waste disposal. Through the ILES project, many of the issues have been addressed while some still need to be considered.

The textile and leather sectors are key drivers of Pakistan’s economy and represent the bulk of industries which provide employment to a considerable population. However, the industries employ potentially pollution-intensive processes with water discharge and use of chemicals deemed harmful for the environment. The ILES project is striving hard to build the capacity of the public and private partners, providing them with technical support to achieve sustainable industrial growth.

For more information, contact:
Head Office,
WWF – Pakistan
P.O. Box 5180, Ferozepur Road, Lahore, Pakistan
UAN: +92-42-111-993-725
Tel: +92-42-35855145-50
Fax: +92-42-35862358
E-mail: info@wwf.org.pk
Website: http://www.wwfpak.org/