Hashim Abro, Tasleem Naz Abro
Climate change is a reality. It is around the globe. Pakistan, like many other developing countries around the globe, is grappling with the adverse impacts of climate change.
Pakistan was ranked 31st in the 2025 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI). The Government of Pakistan has ratified both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, aligning with the global goal of preventing dangerous climate change by reducing greenhouse gases. Pakistan also signed the Paris Agreement on climate change in April 2016 and ratified it in November 2016, and is committed to global efforts to combat it.
Despite all this, public understanding of climate change in Pakistan is dismal. Last month, an Islamabad-based forum called “The Pakistan Intellectual Forum (PIF)” with its chapters across the country conducted a survey about climate change and found that more than 90 percent of people are unconcerned about it. It is a very painful reality. Climate change threatens our sustainable development by causing economic losses, exacerbating social instability, and disrupting climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture. Our country is highly vulnerable, facing an increased frequency of droughts, floods, and heatwaves that can lead to food insecurity, forced migration, and infrastructure damage.
Impacts of climate change on sustainable development are visible, with imminent climate-related disasters posing serious threats. Pakistan risks losing significant portions of its GDP annually due to reduced crop and livestock productivity from water scarcity and extreme weather, leading to food insecurity and affecting millions dependent on agriculture. Climate change also intensifies forced migration, spreads diseases, and undermines social stability and public health. Additionally, water scarcity, rising sea levels, and extreme events like droughts, floods, and wildfires threaten the economy, which heavily relies on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, fishing, and forestry, making them highly vulnerable to climate shocks.
In light of all these emerging problems and challenges, the Government of Pakistan must take firm decisions and make plans to address the adverse effects of climate change that the country is facing. We must address these impacts. It requires integrating climate adaptation into sustainable development frameworks and implementing strategies such as restoring traditional farming methods and strengthening environmental regulations. We must integrate adaptation measures into sustainable development plans to diminish the negative impacts of future climate change. We must reintroduce climate-resilient traditional crops and utilize indigenous plants and farming techniques to improve moisture conservation, soil health, and crop yields. Federal and provincial governments must implement robust environmental monitoring and enforcement systems to reduce pollution, incentivize green technologies, and promote public awareness for environmental protection. Pakistan must work to balance climate change adaptation and mitigation with its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and address risks from rising sea levels, extreme weather, and biodiversity loss that threaten our coastal communities, fisheries, and forests. We must invest in renewable energy and enhance our National Adaptation Plan (NAP) to build resilience, though challenges remain in environmental management and public understanding of climate issues.
Above all, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination together with the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives must create a Strategy on Climate Change and Environmental Learning to address knowledge gaps that are key for formulating informed policies and climate change interventions. Effective implementation of climate change response initiatives requires high levels of awareness, knowledge, and skills on climate change across all socioeconomic sectors, as stipulated in Articles 6 and 10 of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol respectively, issues that should be central to this Strategy in question. The sooner, the better it is.
—Hashim Abro is a contributing columnist, while Tasleem Naz is a volunteer adult literacy educator and social worker based in Islamabad.
