ISLAMABAD: While the developed countries across the world have shifted focus to overcome on the issues related to climate change, it is unfortunate that Pakistan could not implement its first ever National Climate Change Policy 2012, The Nation has learnt. One of the factors among many others in delay of implementing the policy was resignation of the climate change minister, sources said. Senator Mushidullah Khan from the ruling PML-N was forced to step down after a controversial statement.
The minister geared up the implementation process of climate change policy and took on board all provinces and held several meetings in this regard. It was because of the minister’s efforts that provinces assured full support to the federal government regarding the implantation of the policy in country. It was decided in the meetings that all provincial governments, including A&JK and G-B government will establish and constitute provincial climate change policy implementation committees with additional chief secretaries. All provincial governments made promises that they will report to federal government on how policy can be implemented in the country.
A senior official of Ministry of Climate Change informed The Nation that there was a need to push all provinces to speed up the process of policy implantation. He said that after resignation of Muhshidullah Khan the provinces did not take the federal government’s reminder of policy implantation seriously. He said that Climate Change policy could not be implemented in country due to the lack of political will. The experts appreciated incumbent government’s step to convert the climate change division into federal ministry and appointment of Mushahidullah Khan as minister. Sources told that its policy measures to address issues in various sectors such as water, agriculture, forestry, coastal areas, biodiversity, and other vulnerable ecosystem. It would not be possible to manage the environmental national agencies to work effectively without the appointment of new minister for Climate Change, sources added.
