Pakistan has long been a victim of two Foremost perils: terrorism and climate change. It is an enigma to decide between the two as to which is more severe. Both have become, however, an existential threat to Pakistan. In the words of Anatol Lieven, who wrote in the book Pakistan: A Hard Country, “If it eventually collapses, it will not be Islamist extremism but climate change”. Unlike terrorism, climate change as an existential threat has not been widely acknowledged in Pakistan.
As experts predict the landscape of weather variations, it is therefore a new normal in Pakistan. The recent floods in the monsoon season have drawn the great attention of policymakers as well as the public at large due to the intensity of damage. Each episode of damage breaks the record of the last one, yet the story does not end.
Governments have made policies and have been working to mitigate the effects of climate change. What needs to be focused on is to make people aware of climate change, and educated about it.
Resilience is the only way to get rid of this grave challenge, and it is not possible to achieve it without making people aware of the challenge.
Nations are unable to fight the enemy if they do not know about its might. National threats need a national approach to tackle the issue. So far, the topmost challenge that has shaken the whole apparatus of the country is climate change.
Pakistan’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is very low, though it has faced its most devastating floods, which have swept away everything. Pakistan cannot bear the brunt of the damage caused by climate change. The Global North must approach Pakistan with its financial assistance for the sake of the lives of millions, as the world’s fifth largest population is at risk due to climate change.
To take an example, agriculture is the backbone of a country’s economy, and the aftermath of climate change has destroyed the agriculture of Pakistan. The economic damage of the 2010 and 2021 floods is in billions, and the damage of the recent floods has yet to be ascertained. The challenge of food security eventually leads to the challenge of national security. The quote from the book mentioned earlier, truly depicts the situation of climate change for Pakistan. Lieven writes, “If floods and other ecological disasters on this scale become regular events as a result of Climate Change, then Pakistan will be destroyed as a state and as an organised society.”
Knowing the severity and the might of the challenge of climate change, climate education is an integral part of adaptive measures.
Vulnerable countries have been raising voices for climate justice and climate finance. In fact, where there is a need for climate justice, there is a need for access to climate education. It must be considered as a matter of justice. Pakistan is a country where there is no access to climate education. It is not given due attention, nor has it been made a part of the curriculum. Alexia Leclercq, a climate activist, lamenting the education system across the world, said, “Educational systems across the world are not preparing new generations to take action on climate change.”
Among other mitigation and adaptive measures, climate education must be the topmost priority for the nations. It will make them resilient to its looming damages for decades.
Climate justice is an immediate need for countries that are badly affected by climate change. Vulnerable countries that are prone to climate change are paying for what big powers are consuming. The global governance system, like the United Nations, must urge the global powers to meet the pledges they made as soon as possible. It is their moral obligation to save the world from a big collapse.
Pakistan’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is very low, though it has faced its most devastating floods, which have swept away everything. Pakistan cannot bear the brunt of the damage caused by climate change. The Global North must approach Pakistan with its financial assistance for the sake of the lives of millions, as the world’s fifth largest population is at risk due to climate change.
