The challenge of climate change and policy response in Pakistan

Climate change is expected to have adverse impact on Pakistan. This is ironical for a country, which ranks 135th in the world in terms of global green house gases (GHG) emissions per capita, but ranks 16th in terms of vulnerability to climate change. Climate change poses a major threat to all dimensions of sustainable development and has widespread impacts across various sectors and ecosystems such as food, water and energy; forests and biodiversity; coastal and marine environment; as well as on the occurrence and intensity of climate related hazards such as floods and drought. It also carries potential for internal and external conflicts. The paper examines the present and potential impact of climate change in Pakistan, and reviews national policies and plans to examine the extent to which climate-related issues have been integrated within these. The paper also discusses adaptation and mitigation measures and identifies the key elements that need to be included in the Climate Change Action Plan of Pakistan and stresses their mainstreaming into the national development policies and plans.