Planning Commission

Government of Pakistan

Press Release

Islamabad the 13th October, 2008

Task Force on Climate Change formed at Planning Commission

Planning Commission has established a Task Force on Climate Change to address

the challenges related to the phenomenon of climate change. The task force includes
prominent scholars, renowned scientists and managers, having vast experiences in
dealing with the subject. The Task Force will be chaired by Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, Advisor
Science & Technology/Minister of State Planning Commission, a prominent scholar and
a highly reputed scientist. It will be co-chaired by Mr. Shams ul Mulk, Ex-Chairman
WAPDA who is considered an authority on Pakistan’s water resources. Ambassador
Shafqat Kakakhel, Ex-Deputy Executive Director United Nations Environment
Programme, who has vast international experience at policy level and is well versed with
the challenges and opportunities associated with climate change in Pakistan’s context is
also a member of the task force. The other members include Mr. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh,
Director LEAD Pakistan, Mr. Khushnood Ahmed Lashari, Secretary Environment Govt.
of Pakistan, Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Durrani, Chairman WAPDA, Dr. Qamar-uz-Zaman
Director General Pakistan Meteorological Department and Dr. Arshad M. Khan,
Executive Director Global Change Impact Study Centre as member/secretary.
The Task Force will comprehend the scope of impact due to climate change to
Pakistan’s economy; devise guidelines/measures for mitigation and adaptation to cope
with the challenges, evaluate institutional weaknesses and suggest measures for
strengthening capacity of relevant institutions, promoting programme for advocacy and
awareness, mainstreaming climate change into national and sectoral policies, provide
guidelines for reduction of green house gas emissions and environmental pollution as
well as guide for the development of clean development mechanism-based projects to
avail international opportunities for financing.
Climate change is irreversibly harming Pakistan, with its tremendous social,
environmental and economic impacts. The main challenges are reduced agricultural
productivity, human morbidity, and stressed use of natural resources. The agriculture
productivity in Pakistan is being affected due to changes in land and water regimes. This
is negatively affecting agriculture productivity by altering bio-physical relationships like
changing growing periods of crops, altered scheduling of cropping seasons, increased
crop stresses (thermal and moisture stresses), changing irrigation water requirements,
altering soil characteristics and increasing the risk of pests and diseases.
South Asia is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Much of
the population of these countries will eventually be displaced by rising sea levels.
Moreover, the drinking water for much of India and Pakistan comes from the Himalayan,
Karakoram, and Hindukush glaciers that are already beginning to melt from warmer
temperatures. Heavily dependent on agriculture, South Asian economies are most
vulnerable to climate change.
There is a close link between local climate and occurrence or severity of some
diseases and other threats to human health. Moreover, several serious diseases appear
only in warm areas. Warm temperature can increase air and water pollution, which in turn
harm human health. The most direct effect of climate change would be impact of hotter
temperatures themselves. Extreme hot temperatures increase human deaths. Other
impacts follow more intricate pathways such as those that give rise to water and food,
vector and rodent-borne diseases.
During the past century average global temperature has risen by about 1 0 C with
much of that increase due to fossil fuel burning and deforestation. Global temperatures
are projected to increase further by between 1.40C and 5.80C by 2100 and to continue to
rise long after that. Consequences include faster glacier melting, sea level rise, shortage
of fresh water, increased droughts and floods, more frequent and intense forest fires,
more intense storms, more extreme heat episodes, agricultural disruption, the spread of
infectious diseases, and biodiversity loss.
In view of the above mentioned challenges, the Task Force on Climate change at
the Planning Commission has a great relevance in the context of Pakistan.