ISLAMABAD: Minister for Petroleum and Water Resources Musadik Masood Malik has said that Pakistan is heading towards the right direction as it has successfully controlled inflation, achieved substantial growth in agriculture sector and witnessed an increase in foreign reserves.

He was speaking at the concluding plenary of the four-day Sustainable Development Conference organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Thursday.

Mr Malik said the current government had three key priorities, and they were decreasing inflation, ensuring better public life and reducing poverty.

“The government aspires to take the GDP growth rate from 2.4 per cent to 3 per cent as its agriculture sector was growing at a rate of 6.3 per cent, ensuring better economic activity in the rural areas,” he said.

He said investment in social protection initiatives like the BISP and increase in PSDP funding would help ensure development and increase in livelihood opportunities for the younger generation.

The minister said decreasing policy rate, rising foreign reserves and growing foreign direct investment commitments were optimistic indicators that strengthened the country’s economic outlook.

Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam said collaboration between the SDPI and climate change ministry had forged new synergies, with the intention to drive well-informed policy discourse.

She said Pakistan was committed to bringing resilience at the community level against adverse impacts of climate change.

At the upcoming COP29, Pakistan will passionately be advocating for climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building of vulnerable communities, she said.

Ms Alam said that she would be sharing recommendations from this conference at COP29.

Meanwhile, experts, stakeholders and policymakers deliberated on a range of issues at the conference, giving recommendations to the relevant authorities for bringing improvements.

In a plenary titled ‘Annual State of Renewable Energy 2024’, energy experts debated on the status of renewable energy sector, saying the mushrooming growth of self-generated electricity was a major threat to national grid.

CEO of Attock Refinery and Attock Gen Limited Adil Khattak pointed out that Pakistan was currently producing more energy than it needs, which was not only causing distribution inefficiencies but was also becoming a hurdle in transitioning towards renewable energy.

Engr Ahad Nazir from the SDPI shared the Annual State of Renewable Energy 2024 report, offering a snapshot of Pakistan’s current energy situation.

Tauseef Farooqi, former chairman of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) criticised the current energy system, stating that it is “neither affordable, nor reliable, and certainly not sustainable”.

Imran Rana, spokesperson for K-Electric, shared that the utility company aimed to source 30 per cent of its energy from renewables.

Managing Director of the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) Shah Jahan Mirza said while Pakistan had made strides — generating 38 per cent of its energy from renewables in the last fiscal year – there was still much work to be done.

In the session, ‘Minamata Convention Compliance in Pakistan: Role of Dermatologists and Regulatory Authorities’, experts observed that an array of skin lightening products exported by Pakistan had a high concentration of mercury, posing a grave risk to human health and environment.

Director Lab/NEQS, PEPA, Dr Zaigham Abbas said seriousness of the issue could be gauged from the fact that out of 59 samples of skin whitening creams which were tested, only three were found to be complying with regulations and had mercury lower than 1PPM.

Khawaja Mohiuddin from PSQCA said the country lacked standard labs for testing contaminated cosmetics.

In the session, ‘Beyond Fake News: Finding Truth in a World of Misinformation’ senior journalist Mazhar Abbas outlined the severe impact of fake news on public trust in the media, especially in a society increasingly polarised by political and social divides.

Asad Baig from Media Lab said the monetisation model of social media platforms, which prioritised engagement and reach, inadvertently promoted fake news.

In the session titled ‘Transforming Food Systems for Climate-Resilient Food Security in Pakistan’, scientists, academics and industry experts spoke on the urgent need to strengthen the country’s agricultural infrastructure to withstand the increasing impacts of climate change.

A representative from the World Food Programme (WFP) Eric Kenefick stressed the importance of building resilience in food systems to mitigate the effects of climate shocks such as heatwaves and floods, which have been devastating crop yields and livelihoods.

Alessia De Caterina from WFP Italy stressed the importance of raising awareness among policymakers about the long-term impacts of climate change on food security.

Florence Rolle from the FAO Pakistan highlighted the gender disparities that persist in Pakistan’s agricultural sector, noting that women have limited access to inputs, knowledge and financing.

Speakers at the session, ‘Environmental conflict and social dialogue in Pakistan’ were of the view that by disturbing environment security, multiple crises, including hindering economic growth and food security, were created.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2024