Romina Khursheed Alam: Because the coordinator to the prime minister on local weather change and environmental coordination, I’ve led key initiatives to deal with Pakistan’s environmental challenges. My work contains implementing local weather insurance policies, enhancing environmental governance and securing worldwide assist for resilience tasks. I’ve additionally centered on elevating consciousness about plastic waste, water conservation and renewable power.
Nevertheless, my position is advisory and facilitative, not government. I can affect and coordinate however depend on ministries and departments for coverage implementation and useful resource allocation.
What are the important thing points you’re at the moment specializing in and what main initiatives are within the pipeline?
We’re specializing in main the execution of the Nationwide Adaptation Plan to reinforce Pakistan’s resilience to local weather impacts, with lively provincial collaboration. Efforts embrace growing a technique to mobilise and utilise local weather finance for sustainable progress and finalising a framework for carbon buying and selling to cut back emissions and encourage greener applied sciences.
Implementing plastic ban laws to curb air pollution can also be a precedence. Moreover, advancing tasks that combine environmental sustainability into industrial practices and growing a media technique to boost public consciousness and interact stakeholders in local weather motion are key initiatives.
COP29 is approaching and Pakistan has so much driving on it. What are the nation’s primary objectives for the summit and the way are you getting ready to current them?
Pakistan’s objectives for COP29 embrace securing elevated local weather finance, particularly for adaptation and resilience tasks in susceptible areas. The nation goals to advertise its Nationwide Adaptation Plan, deal with loss and injury from local weather change and finalise its carbon market coverage to draw investments in sustainable tasks. We’re getting ready 25-30 tasks for funding approval and in search of billions of {dollars}, regardless of restricted manpower.
Strengthening worldwide partnerships and advocating for local weather justice, together with honest remedy for growing international locations in finance and expertise switch, are additionally priorities.
Preparation entails coordinating with ministries and stakeholders, compiling information and analysis on local weather impacts, partaking in high-level diplomacy and growing a complete communications technique to current Pakistan’s objectives successfully at COP29.
Sherry Rehman, the then local weather change minister, made vital strides by advocating for the Loss and Injury Fund following the 2022 floods. Has Pakistan acquired any monetary assist from this initiative and what’s the present standing?
After the devastating 2022 floods in Pakistan, former minister for local weather change Sherry Rehman made a robust enchantment for the institution of a Loss and Injury Fund at COP27. This fund was supposed to help international locations like Pakistan which are disproportionately affected by local weather change.
The Loss and Injury Fund was formally agreed upon throughout COP27, marking a big achievement for growing nations. Nevertheless, operationalising the fund has been sluggish, with ongoing discussions about its construction, governance and the factors for accessing the funds. Pakistan has been actively concerned in these negotiations, pushing for swift implementation in order that susceptible international locations can obtain well timed help.
Pakistan is among the many prime 5 international locations most susceptible to local weather change. How is the federal government integrating local weather considerations into its broader power, financial and monetary insurance policies?
Pakistan is step by step integrating local weather points into its power, financial and monetary insurance policies regardless of going through challenges. The Various and Renewable Vitality Coverage (2019) goals for 60 per cent clear power by 2030, specializing in photo voltaic, wind and hydropower.
The Nationwide Electrical Automobiles (EV) Coverage promotes EV use to chop air air pollution and fossil gasoline reliance. Inexperienced financing initiatives, such because the renewable power financing scheme and the issuance of Pakistan’s first inexperienced bond, assist sustainable power investments.
Financial planning incorporates SDGs, together with local weather motion (SDG 13), and recognises local weather impacts on susceptible teams, with the Nationwide Adaptation Plan (NAP) and climate-resilient agriculture initiatives addressing these points.
Social security nets just like the Ehsaas Program concentrate on lowering climate-induced poverty amongst girls and marginalised communities. Challenges persist, together with useful resource limitations and enforcement points, however there’s a rising dedication to inclusive and equitable local weather insurance policies.
How necessary is regional cooperation in coping with Pakistan’s challenges on air air pollution and what steps are being taken to foster such cooperation?
Regional cooperation is essential for tackling environmental challenges like air air pollution, Himalayan ecosystem administration and water useful resource points.
