In order to move in the correct direction, it is essential to formulate robust policies to tackle complicated issues. The economists formulate economic policy to deal with the financial crisis, seasoned diplomats make foreign policy to make cordial relations with other states, and specialized people in security and policing devise counter-terrorism policy to counter-terror elements.
To deal with current and imminent environmental threats, it is necessary for Pakistan to formulate a well-planned and comprehensive environmental policy involving all the major stakeholders including politicians, planners, economists, environmentalists, social activists, media groups, and citizenry.
The main reason for getting involved with these all stakeholders is to make Pakistan’s environmental policy more inclusive while covering the broad-based areas.
The major significance of any policy related to environment is that it gives you the direction which can push local industries, manufacturing units, non-renewable power plants and businesses to set some benchmarks for halting environmental deterioration and taking proactive and environmental-friendly steps.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan, there is no clear-cut environmental policy. In the field of climate change, we are not doing enough to materialize our environmental goals. We still have not done enough to reap the benefits of the billion tree tsunami project.
This government is going to complete its three-year tenure but billion tree tsunami saplings are nowhere to be found in major cities like Karachi and Lahore. It seems that the target of this initiative is quite a far-fetched dream seeing the current progress of the project.
On the other hand, there is an absence of climate change diplomacy. We have not taken any significant steps with other major countries to initiate the projects related to climate change and its mitigation, unlike India which is aligning itself with the United States to work on clean energy projects such as clean energy finance.
Similarly, there is less propagation of the world’s imminent crisis of climate change by the government in Pakistan. It has been more engrossed in other trivial issues and cosmetic reforms rather than promoting the rhetoric of climate change in its meetings and day-to-day affairs.
