ISLAMABAD, June 5: Concern over climatic change and environmental degradation on Thursday dominated the proceedings of different events and seminars held in twin-cities to mark the World Environment Day.

The installation of a solar geyser at Energy Conservation Centre (Enercon) by the Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi was the main feature of the day.

The solar geyser is a pioneer effort of Enercon in public private partnership for conservation of the energy. The cost of the geyser is Rs15,000 to Rs25,000, and the geyser has a capacity of 35 gallons.

Talking to journalists, the minister said the most of Pakistani households rely on natural gas boosted geysers to heat water. This creates green house gas emissions that are changing the climate.

He said that Pakistan was blessed with abundant sunshine to meet water heating needs.

The minister said that with the introduction of the solar geyser, the energy required to heat water may be reduced up to 80 per cent resulting in huge savings on water heating bills and major cuts in households green house gas emissions.

He said that solar geyser can pay back its cost in two to three years through the savings on the gas and electricity bills.

The minister said that massive adaptation of the solar geysers is a success story of the Enercon as a result of mass awareness campaign for using the energy efficient equipments and thereby conserving the energy.

Addressing a mega event in connection with environment day the minister announced 2009 as “Year of Environment”.

He, in this regard announced a number of steps including issuance of commemorative stamps on environment and holding of international conferences, exhibitions and launching of national programmes for protection and conservation of environment in line with the National Environment Policy, National Energy Conservation Policy and National Sanitation policy.

Federal Minister for Environment assured concrete steps for implementation of these policies to offset the huge environmental degradation cost, which, according to World Bank estimates, stood at Rs365 billion per annum or Rs1 billion per day that accounted for six per cent of the GDP.

This year’s theme “Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy” had been selected to focus on the pressing challenge of carbon emissions reduction to catalyse action on climate change. Global weather and climate change was now regarded as “the greatest challenge the world is facing”. The average global temperature was increasing, mainly as a result of increase in concentration of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, the minister added.

Elaborating further, the minister said that agricultural productivity had been affected by the changes in land and water regimes. Dry lands areas in arid and semi-arid regions had become most vulnerable which had put the country’s food security at risk.