Pakistan has contributed one percent to the global warming yet it is the 7th most affected country from the climate change. Our less contribution to the emissions can be attributed to our less infrastructural growth but we have not been able to escape the overall effects. It is assessed that the temperature in Pakistan will be one degree higher than rest of the world by year 2060. This is going to cost us grossly, if we don’t nurture the green culture.
Over the last few decades there has been tremendous development in South East Asia and it is also said that the ‘Battle for Climate Change’ is going to be fought in future. Cognizant of the calamity in offing, President Xi of China, during 3rd Belt and Road Forum in November 2023, announced the concept of Greening the BRI for which a sum of $10bn has also been allocated. CPEC, under this initiative, is the pilot project.
The Chinese journey to nurturing green culture is astounding. There was a time when sky over Beijing was filled with smog and would seldom be clear for star gazing. Now, there are more stars visible every night in Beijing than anywhere in the world. Kicking off 1000km long and one km wide green belt on Mongolian border to stop dust storms from entering Chinese mainland is yet another wonder. Today, every new Chinese industry is environment friendly while relocating of the old industry to other parts of China as well as overseas is also undertaken after due modifications. China has pledged to become “no emissions” country by year 2030 and they seem to be well on their course.
China has long been blamed for its environmental hazardous policies and industry. As BRI is an extraordinarily massive project, so it attracts most of the criticism too. This accusation has made China conscious of its responsibility towards preserving the environment. China’s commitment to greening the BRI is therefore concrete. They have the will, the financial capacity and the audacity to do it anywhere what they have done in their own country. It is good news for Pakistan that CPEC is the pilot project in this overall concept. However, it is not that simple as lot has to be done on our part to absorb and materialize this concept. Hence, assessing the future challenges timely, China has also introduced five corridors in CPEC namely open up corridor, growth corridor, green corridor, livelihood corridor and innovation corridor. Apart from work in progress on various CPEC projects, this further dissection of corridors will help in appropriate evaluation of ventures.
Already marred with lack of growth, our industry is mostly fossil fuel based. Given the fact that environment friendly energy sources are expensive, our industry cannot be expected to convert overnight. They have to be offered with incentives to do so. This requires financial and regulatory mechanisms to be altered accordingly. Our grid system for electricity distribution is age old, therefore it needs to be made compatible with the modern electricity generating plants. We lack expertise, technical proficiency and policy formulation on the subject. Pakistan’s agriculture system requires revamping, as per acre yield is lowest in the world today. Modern techniques are to be employed to enhance our harvest. Substantial tax holiday is to be granted to industrial sector especially those which are being located in Special Economic Zones. For that matter, Special Economic Zones are to be completed faster than ever before as we are already late on that account. Our cities are densely populated and unclean and there is no mechanism for the garbage disposal. Likewise, the culture of recycling is also in its infancy in Pakistan. A significant rise in tree cutting and use of wood for fuel has been witnessed recently owing to price hike in fuel. People from lower strata of society need energy but can’t pay for fulfilling their energy needs. All in all, a complete eco system is to be developed around the concept so that tangible benefits are reaped. Certainly this all is not attainable in a day!
Nowadays, there is great rhetoric on climate change and a need for environment friendly policies in Pakistan, yet the intervention on ground is invisible. The government officials and analysts are often heard and seen participating in conferences and seminars on the subject but practical steps in this direction are much wanting. It needs to be understood that although China has made a commitment to greening the BRI, yet the partner countries have to build and demonstrate their capacity to absorb this commitment. In case of Pakistan, often we ask the world to compensate for the damage they have done to us. It is time we need to grasp the reality that there are meagre chances that the world at large will be ready to undo the harm they have caused to our environment, through grants, donations or loss and damage funds. If we are really serious to save our souls and that of future generations, the path to green culture has to be strategized, implemented and nurtured in true letter and spirit.
–The writer works as Communication Strategist at the Institute of Regional Studies and can be reached at reema.asim81@gmail.com