THE World Standards Day is being observed globally today (Oct 14). The focus this year is on climate change as is reflected in the theme, ‘Shared Vision for a Better World: Standards for the Changing Climate’. The day is an opportunity to raise awareness and deepen our understanding of the value of standardisation.

Today, there is a great deal of concern about climate change because of the negative effects that frequent natural disasters brought on by global warming have had on public health, individual savings, labour productivity and business practices. Globally, governments have ratified a number of intergovernmental agreements, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Tokyo Protocol, and the Paris Agree- ment, as well as domestic environmental policies in an effort to diminish climate-related threats.

Given the consequences of climate change, standards serve as a means of addressing the climate crisis, removing obstacles in the way of effective climate action, as well as establishing a solid foundation for reaching the world’s net-zero target related to carbon emissions.

Standards support the decarbonisation of industries to enable them to efficiently monitor, validate and verify their greenhouse gas emissions. They offer the means to reduce energy consumption and cost. They also support climate change adaptation by assisting organisations in understanding the implications and uncertainties associated with potential impacts, and ultimately helping build a safer, more resilient society.

In addition, standards are at the heart of UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and several of the SDGs reflect the fight against climate change, particularly SDG-7 which is about ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy by facilitating access to clean energy research and technology. Also, SDG-13 is about taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, while SDG-14 is related to conserving and sustainably using marine resources for sustainable development.

The World Standards Day, today, is yet another occasion for us to renew our commitment to taking meaningful action by adopting, developing and sincerely implementing standards. Better integration of disclosure frameworks, existing methodology and management system standards will eventually be required to help set higher climate objectives and facilitate successful climate action.

Dr Ainy Zehra
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2024