Climate Change is a matter of National Security, says Sherry Rehman

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman at the SSC on Climate Change said Thursday that the Climate Change is a matter of National Security, it acts as a threat multiplier, potentially amplifying existing risks of extreme vulnerability and exposure to intense competition over depleting resources.

The scarcity of water is a real and present danger, particularly to lower riparian areas like Sindh, where the river is almost bone dry by the time it reaches the upper Sindh. This not only impacts crops but the soil as well as the ecosystem that subsist in the delta.

“Reports are coming in from all over the country of extreme weather patterns and unseasonably high temperatures. The heatwave spanning the whole country is now registering its ferocity in multiple trend lines that pose risks for the population, particularly communities on subsistence daily wages in the cities or farmland populations.

The impacts of this crisis are stretching from rice plants that have attained maturity but don’t have grains , and there’s concerns wheat will follow suit. Pakistan is now having to import wheat, sugar and rice in large proportions and many are at risk of growing food insecurity. Climate stress is also impacting Pakistan economically in a calculus of losses which are predicted at 6-8 percent of Pakistan’s GDP. The ADB already predicts a $3.8bn annual loss. This is a matter of survival for the country, not just for one province but for the whole of Pakistan .”

It is clear to us at the Ministry that we will have to move forward with better adaptation plans in a full-on whole of government challenge, without rejecting anyone’s contribution. We cannot be making policies and NDCs for the sole objective of foreign conferences, and exclude them in local adaptation plans. So far, Pakistan’s entire focus has been on mitigation, which is fine for a proportion of the policy mix but not sustainable for a developing country. People have to make lifestyle changes and the county needs to plan for more extreme weather events that will destabilise not just the economy but people’s lives, public health and increase fragility.

She continued, “The collapse of the bridge after the Shisper outburst was entirely expected, and it is important to brace and prepare for other such events. Rescue and relief agencies have been altered again, she told the Standing Committee of the Senate as to impending GLOF events. “KPK and GB have 3044 glacial lakes, with 33 such lakes being high risk. Pakistan is currently experiencing a series of heatwaves as a result of global climate inaction and the lack of global commitments to pledges made to reduce greenhouse gases. “

She added, “There also needs to be a thorough investigation into the Shisper matter. An assessment must be made of existing infrastructure in the GB area with a particular focus on bridges. It could be a combined effort by the NDMA and NHA; various sectors must come together. This is not an issue where we get into turf wars about who is responsible. We need to come together and the whole country is suffering. This is not an issue for a particular province. There is no short-term solution. This isn’t a light switch that we will flip and suddenly everything will be okay. Given the level of multiple climate crises and extreme weather emergencies, policymakers must be at least made aware of the scale of the task. Right now the country has not been educated on the scale of the climate emergency that Pakistan faces. Mass media campaigns need to be run across multiple channels to increase public awareness of the risks and impacts of climate change.”

She concluded, “Whilst Islamabad is nowhere nearly as impacted as the provinces due to climate stress; this is a global phenomenon. Our underground water is running dry, and we need long-term policies in place of quick-fix solutions. Our public has been misled into believing planting trees is a climate policy whereas the truth is the Climate Council hasn’t met in four years, the media is least interested in climate stress and there is a severe data shortage. This must change.”