Staff Reporter
The Global Climate Risk Index has placed Pakistan on the fifth spot on the list of countries most vulnerable to climate change in its annual report for 2020. The use of fossil fuels which includes coal, gas and fuel oil on the other hand is detrimental for the country’s environmental future. It is thus imperative for the country to move to renewable energy sooner rather than later, wherein a failure in doing so will further aggravate the existing food, water and energy security related threats.
These concerns were raised in the first yearly meeting of IPS’ Steering Committee on Energy, Water and Climate Change, which was organized by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Islamabad for reviewing outgoing year’s progress as well as planned projects for the forthcoming year 2020-21. The meeting was chaired by Mirza Hamid Hasan, former secretary, Water and Power, and addressed by Ashfaq Mahmood, former secretary, Water and Power, Syed Akhtar Ali, former member energy, Planning Commission of Pakistan and author of many books on energy, Ameena Sohail, Sr IPS associate and energy lawyer, Khalid Rahman, executive president IPS, Naufil Shahrukh, GM-Operations IPS, and the Institute’s energy and water program’s team members Naila Saleh, Sarah and Wali Farooqi.
Terming the use of clean energy as the only way forward for ensuring an environmentally secured future for Pakistan.
