Ali Tauqeer Sheikh

IT is in the fundamental national security interest of Pakistan that global average temperatures stabilise at 1.5 degrees Celsius. A change of 1°C has already caused serious disruptions and brought the economy to its knees. Pakistan, like many other developing countries, will simply not have the residual resilience to cope with recurring climate disasters. For Pakistan, this has to be ...

CLIMATE justice must begin at home. Increasing human and economic losses from climate-induced disasters has spurred a national debate in the country. Globally, too, many activists and policymakers urge compensation or reparation for countries that are low carbon emitters. It will take years to evolve international mechanisms, agreed principles, and functioning institutions for global climate justice. But Pakistan has begun to develop ...

THE recent floods have exhausted Pakistan’s ability to meet its international climate commitments. Pakistan’s policy trade-offs have become a painful paradox: the more the government spends to help the flood-affected communities, the less resources it is left with to meet its climate mitigation and adaptation obligations made under the Paris Agreement. Emergency relief through cash disbursements and humanitarian dimensions have ...

THE recent flood disaster in the country has triggered an unprecedented interest in Pakistan’s climate crisis and global climate injustice. It is now commonly said that whereas Pakistan’s share in global carbon emissions is miniscule, an unfair burden has fallen on the country’s economy and poor population. The scale and magnitude of economic and non-economic losses, two core concerns of the ‘loss ...

DISASTER relief is not a stand-alone operation. It cannot be effective unless clearly designed and aligned with reforms and reconstruction needed for resilience. Instead of rediscovering and reinventing our system weaknesses anew after every disaster, the country should have in place a compass or a framework to guide our recovery and rebuilding efforts. This can be developed now, based on ...

PAKISTAN is in the midst of a man-made disaster. Our flawed development model has made our lives insecure in both the urban and rural areas. This pattern of development has robbed us of the monsoons — our season of romance, raindrops, walking in the rain, and singing songs. The monsoons have always been part of our folklore and poetry. They ...

BALOCHISTAN foretells Pakistan’s unfolding climate story. The unending torrential rains, flash floods, landslides and mudslides, following the hot weather and heatwaves, have wreaked havoc and caused deaths which could have been mostly prevented. It has robbed many areas in the province of precious topsoil and washed away standing crops as well as individual, community and state assets — houses, livestock, ...

THE frequency and ferocity of climate-induced disasters in recent months have been frightening. Equally alarming are the knee-jerk responses by our policymakers. For the most part, they do not seem to comprehend the complexity of climate change and are communicating some illusionary signposts as policy objectives. Ad hocism has compounded our climate vulnerabilities, and inaction restricts climate adaptation options, leading ...

THE scorching temperatures and prolonged heatwave in several parts of Pakistan are a reminder of what lies ahead for the country. Jacobabad, Nawabshah and Sibi have emerged amongst the top hottest places in the world with average temperatures recording five degrees Celsius higher than normal. Read: In Jacobabad, the hottest city on Earth, mothers bear brunt of climate change The illustrative ...

PAKISTAN’S development model has still not recognised the limits of the natural environment and the damage it would cause, if violated, to the sustainability of development and to the health and well-being of its population. Pakistan’s environment journey began with Stockholm Declaration in 1972. A delegation led by Nusrat Bhutto represented the country at the Stockholm meeting, resulting in the ...