PESHAWAR: The updated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Climate Change Policy, 2022, has called for streamlining of climate change mitigation measures in various sectors of economy and development projects to achieve sustainable development and resilience to natural disasters.

The policy, a draft of which is available with Dawn, aims to work towards a host of objectives such as formulation of a more appropriate and province-specific policy consistent with Pakistan’s updated National Climate Change Policy, 2021, developing and strengthening an enabling environment for Pakistan’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts and incorporate adaptation and mitigation strategies into major relevant sectors, policies, strategies, and plans, among others.

Under the updated NDCs, the government of Pakistan has set a cumulative aggressive objective of overall 50 per cent reduction in projected emissions by 2030, with 15 percent coming from domestic resources and the remaining 35 percent contingent on international grant financing.

The National Climate Change Policy 2021 sought to facilitate the transition to a resource-efficient, low-carbon economy in order to achieve sustainable growth.

Updated Climate Change Policy also calls for better coordination among depts

It provided a long-term framework for action to factor in resource efficiency in a balanced manner in several policy sectors, including climate change, energy, transportation, industry, agriculture, biodiversity, and regional development.

The draft KP Climate Change Policy, 2022, is an update of the provincial Climate Change Policy, 2017. Following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, KP was the first province to develop a provincial climate change policy that year. The policy update also seeks to make the provincial climate change action consistent with the updated National Climate Change Policy (2021).

The policy actions have been devised in keeping with the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that seeks to reduce international green-house gas emissions by setting national targets based on the concept of ‘common but differentiated responsibility’. This means that nations, which emit majority of GHGs, need to reduce GHGs at a greater rate.

Another international obligation is the Paris Climate Agreement 2015, a legally binding global treaty on climate change that aims to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this long-term temperature goal, all countries are required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century

To facilitate climate change adaptation and mitigation actions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including short-, medium-, and long-term climate resilient and sustainable development, the KP Climate Change Policy 2022 underscores the need to improve inter- and intra-departmental coordination and cooperation for effective planning and execution of actions against climate change.

Equally importantly, the policy seeks to integrate climate change risks and concerns as it impacts the vulnerable, marginalized, and indigenous communities in development strategies and planning through focus on pro-poor gender sensitive adaptation and mitigation initiatives.

To adopt mitigation measures in sectors such as energy, transportation, waste, industry, and urban planning etc, the policy outlines methods for capacity building and training of government line departments for sustainable development.

Climate change poses critical and significant challenges to Pakistan’s ecosystems, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that could only be addressed through bold and creative climate actions.

The draft says according to scientific evidence, climate change-related disasters such as riverine floods, storm water, glacier bursting, heat strokes, droughts, and other vector-borne diseases are expected to become more common in the coming decades.

The adaptation approach to climate change seeks to reduce the vulnerability of natural and human systems or to capitalize on anticipated changes in climatic conditions, whereas mitigation seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through technological or through nature-based solutions.

A salient feature of the policy is specific measures for the sectors where adaptation and mitigation is required. Governance, planning, risk management, resources, communication, and monitoring are all critical to the successful implementation of the provincial policy, says the document.

Once implemented, says the draft document, it will open new avenues and attract the international climate financing in adaptation and mitigation sectors, allowing the KP to achieve sustainable development and create resilience against natural disasters, thereby securing the province’s fragile economy in the coming challenging environment.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2022