Pak Observer: The International Energy Agency (IEA) in its annual World Energy Outlook Report has warned that the world has just five years to avoid being trapped in a scenario of perilous climate change and extreme weather events. It warned that the current trends of rising fossil energy use will lead to irreversible and potentially catastrophic climate change resulting in extremes of drought, flooding, heat waves and storms.
The report is not a new disclosure in the sense that for the last many years scientists have been warning of environmental degradation and its negative fallouts. There is hue and cry world over and a serious thinking is going on because if left unattended, it would lead to catastrophic developments. With emissions from factories and other carbon emitting sources the temperature is rising leading to melting of glaciers which would raise the level of sea waters and many cities along the coast face the danger of being submerged.
Though it is a worldwide phenomenon and no single country can tackle it, even then the concerned authorities in Pakistan need to take precautionary steps rather than devoting entire attention to day-to-day frivolous issues.
Pakistan is a developing country and the least contributor to pollution and warming, yet it has been adversely affected by the changing weather system. Floods in the last two years have affected Pakistan’s economy adversely as vast areas of fertile lands came under water, crops destroyed and millions of people made homeless. This natural calamity should be considered as a warning because there are predictions that the floods would visit Pakistan every year due to impact of international warming and the leadership and the concerned authorities must see whether the country is ready to face the weather onslaughts.
While the Government needs to launch special drainage programme in Sindh to avoid the repetition of this year’s floods, it should also pay more attention to strengthen protective bunds along the rivers. At the same time a mass awareness campaign be launched to check pollution and there should be no laxity in this endeavour because our future depends on controlling and reducing the negative impacts of environmental degradation.
