ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said that the government would bring furnace oil import to zero by converting powerhouses running on furnace oil to imported Liquefied Natural Gas to further contain greenhouse emissions.

Addressing the “Science Policy Conference on Climate Change” here on Monday, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan was fully cognizant of its commitment to the challenges of environment and was effectively dealing with the phenomenon of the greenhouse effect.

He said that the country had only one per cent of the greenhouse footprint as 50 per cent of primary energy was coming from gas and another 20 per cent from hydropower and other renewable resources.

He said that Pakistan has a national environmental policy and also allocated eight percent of its budget to fight the effects of climate change.

He said that the Parliament had also taken action and two institutions, namely National Climate Change Authority and National Climate Change Council had been created.

He said that the government was committed to managing national disasters and the role of the Pakistan Meteorological Department to provide related information, to conduct research.

Abbasi said that investment in the reduction of climate change effects was important as being part global citizens.

He said that Pakistan ratified the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015 and was following the principles therein to reduce the greenhouse emissions by 20 per cent.

He said that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had focused on the issue with much commitment, which was needed to be carried forward with swift action.

The Prime Minister said that climate change had become one of the biggest challenges for mankind and had united the international community on one platform for action against its hazards.

He talked about the recent prevalence of smog in the country and said that it should serve as an eye-opener to be more serious about the issue of the environment.

He expressed the confidence that in the near future, all furnace oil-based power plants would no longer be functional as Pakistan was already utilising Euro-II diesel and petrol.

He said that the shift from furnace oil would mitigate the negative effects of the fuel.

He said that the government’s emphasis was three-pronged — protecting the population, promoting economic growth and reducing poverty — to meet financial commitments.

He hoped that the conference would lead to more interaction among the experts to share information and knowledge on climate change.