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/