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Adnan Ul Haq - 18508

Assignment Question Week 6

Discuss how compared to 30-40 years ago, climate change has become an important plank of a

state’s public and security policies. What implication would this have for a state’s socio-

economic priorities? Discuss whether this has factored into Pakistan’s governance policies, and

if so, in what way?

Introduction:

David Wallace, a renowned environmentalist, states in his book that what lies between us and

extinction is the horrifying climate change. Climate change has indeed affected our lives in

social, economic and political ways and has influenced the states policies extensively. Climate

change is basically a long term change in the Earth’s climate due to the increase in the average

temperature. It started dating back to ancient Greeks when people proposed that temperature

changes and rainfall can be influenced by human activities such as chopping down the trees or

plowing fields or irrigating the desert. In the 1800’s experiments leading to Carbon di oxide and

other gases being collected in the atmosphere and insulating the Earth was seen with curiosity

and not until late 1950’s Carbon di oxide’s reading offered data involving in global warming

theory which was finally proven real as the worlds average temperature rose due to the depletion

in ozone layer.

In 1970’s the Earth went into brief cooling period due to post war boom in aerosol pollutants that

reflected the sunlight away from the planet. As this ended the worlds temperature resumed their

warming a spot light. A year later in 1989 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

was established under United Nations to give a scientific view of climate change and its political
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and economic impacts. There is however prediction of severe heat waves, droughts, hurricanes

due to increase in the surface temperatures and to define its seriousness its claimed by scientists

that many cities might be swamped by 2100 as the sea level rises.

Climate change has become one of the most important concerns for the states across the world.

This is because the there has been an increase in the Carbon dioxide emissions from past 30

years with an average of 10 degrees rise in temperature from 1990s . The Arctic is warming

faster than any other region at least two and a half times and warning states to introduce policies

to cater such situation.

Analysis

Climate change effecting human security :

Although health of humans has been severely affected through climate and weather, it is the

change in climate and its extreme variability which is the significant threat to human health.

Increase in temperatures leading to rising seas which compromises the drinking water, waste

water treatment and storm water disposal causing water borne diseases through bacteria and

pathogens. The increased heat causes drought and fires impacting air quality severely. When soil

dust becomes air borne, conditions such as asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia are frequently

experienced. Climate change and thus the global warming results into higher temperatures

causing heat exhaustion, dehydration, several cardio vascular and respiratory diseases. Warmer

temperatures speed up the reproductive cycle of cold blooded mosquitoes and the cases of

mosquito borne disease Dengue is linked with global warming by many scientists. The increased

Carbon dioxide concentrations stimulate the carbohydrate production in crops and also reduce

the level of protein and minerals in the plants having negative effect on food production.
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The current status shows the increase in sea levels, extreme temperatures and ice loss marking

2015 – 2019 the warmest five year period on record. The CO2 level has increased to 20 %,

temperature has increased to 1.1 degrees Celcius in these five years and several storms, wild fires

and flooding has been recorded in the recent years. This had detrimental effect on humans lives

alarming the change in public and security polices since last 40 years. The growth of industries

in these few decades has also affected the climate and the environment by increasing the amount

the amount of smoke and emissions through fossil fuels, polluting water and soil through

contaminants and destroying the natural habitat by cutting down crops and trees resulting into

global warming.

State’s public and security policies:

The most important conference of parties was held in Kyoto in 1997 resulted into Kyoto protocol

to United Nations. This Kyoto protocol made binding green house gases reduction in

industrialized countries. The frame work included three mechanisms:

 Emissions trading that allowed countries to sell their unused emission to the ones that

have exceeded the targets.

 The clean development mechanism that bind commitment to implement reduction in

emission in developing countries.

 Joint implementation that allowed developed countries to earn emission reduction units

through a project.
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The drastic change in climate allowed the policies to be adopted in several states since 1980’s

and give priority to the different aspects of social, economic and political sides that are being

affected by the climate change.

According to the Climate Risk Index (CRI) report of 2018, Pakistan is the 7th most vulnerable

country to climate change and global warming. Pakistan has experienced 141 disastrous weather

events, including floods, storms, cyclones, heat waves and many others since past decades. Two

major catastrophic events were the 2005 earthquake and the 2010 super floods which displaced

hundreds of families and damaged properties worth billions. Climate change has not been treated

as a sectoral problem, rather as a multi-dimensional problem. Pakistan is suffering from a range

of social, cultural, political and geographical problems which have a direct effect on Pakistan's

national security.

The National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) was introduced in 2012 by the Environmental

Ministry of Pakistan and commenced contributions to United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP) and gave recommendations in improving three major sectors such as ; energy , transport

and agriculture . Specifically the national policy of environment objective was to protect and

preserve the environment enhancing citizens’ quality of life.

As seen, the climate change is an impertinent threat to Pakistan’s national security. Islamabad is

the 5th country in the world that adopted legislation for climatic issues devising wildlife and

forest policies. Since past decades the ministry has been increasingly arranging seminars and

conferences to increase awareness of climate issues and future threat to human securities in

metropolitan cities of Pakistan.

Socio economic concerns :

Pakistan’s Initial National Communication note to United Nations projects impact of climate

change on Pakistan’s water supply is significant and also on country’s energy supply as 35 % of

Pakistan electricity generation is on hydro power. Climate change is also anticipated to have a

considerable impact on the country’s agricultural system, with possible impacts including

vulnerability to heat stress, shifts in the spatial boundaries of crops, changes in productivity, and

changes in water availability. Moreover it will impact forestry and coastal zones like Karachi

causing coastal erosion and flooding due to sea rise. It also notes the potential impact of climate

change on the livestock sector and biodiversity, as well as socio-economic impacts on health and

food safety.

In Pakistan’s economic sector, climate change has had a crucial effect due to water shortages and

a decreased generation of agriculture. Pakistan's major part of the population depends on

agriculture; any amount disruption to this region will be an embarrassment to Pakistan's

economy, and trade balance would be decreased. The economy is one of the main foundations

for the development and prosperity of every society, although climate change is in a negative

relationship with the economy. In the 2010 super floods, more than 20 million people were

homeless, with economic damages costing $10 billion.

In the international platform, Pakistan endorsed South Asian Association Regional Cooperation

declarations on climate change that includes Thimphu declaration in 2010. The floods of 2010

have prompted the policy makers to devise a national policy and action plan on climate change.

Pakistan has recently claimed its due share of support from global sources in United Nations.
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The implications of global warming have indeed led states to think about the future and keep the

climate change on their priority while establishing a policy.

Governance policies:

The government of Imran Khan has taken a positive step of planting one hundred million trees to

make “Green Pakistan” in his tenure. In 2016, the climate change ministry of Pakistan had taken

the support of $37 million from the Global Climate Funding to prevent glacier lakes from

bursting in Gilgit Baltistan. Several schemes of worth 3144 million rupees have been approved

which includes the Establishment of Geometric Centre for Climate Change, numerous Green

Pakistan Programmes, Sustainable Land Management Programmes o Combat Desertification,

Establishment of WASH Strategic Planning and Coordination Cell and Climate Resilient Urban

Human Settlements Unit.

The policy makers have included their stance in governance through following ways:

 Ensuring productive utilization of energy in the daily life of people and organization.

 Making infrastructural changes in industries and households to reduce emissions.

 Modernizing the farming area to create news seeds and clear irrigation systems.

 Using media to create awareness of climate change.

 Revision of woodland and biodiversity management.

 Enhancing system of early warning and data based information.

Conclusion:

I believe the drastic change in climatic conditions in the recent years, the flooding, increased

temperature, drought and heavy storms are the evidence that there is a need to devise a policy

regarding humans’ security and future prospects as it is essential for the states survival. This

would help to cater to ever growing green house gas emissions and industrialization that has

affected human lives badly. The government of Pakistan has increased their budget for the

climate change activities in the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) and has been involved in

formulating policies and conducting projects to tackle the problems. The most significant work

of current government regarding environment and climate effect is the reforestation policy which

has been continued even in the current pandemic and the target 10 billion trees is near to achieve

that will surely benefit the country in the longer run.

References:

Bhatti, M. A. (2009). Climate Change: A Problem for Pakistan’s National Security.

Daily, S. (2015). Climate study finds evidence of global shift in the 1980s.

Moore, T. G. (2019). Do Climate Changes Mean Anything?

Revkin, A. (2018). Climate Change First Became News 30 Years Ago. Why Haven’t We Fixed It?

Critical Questions:

1. How the perception of food insecurity did led to creation of Transnational Land

Acquisition policies?
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2. How do the private sector actors play their role in solving climate change and how does

the global ecological shadow deals with consumption issues?