ISLAMABAD, Jan 13 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani Tuesday said all development plans in the country will consider climate change at planning and implementation stage, as the government fully realizes its implications on economy and environment. Inaugurating the regional conference on ‘Climate change - challenges and opportunities for South Asia’ the Prime Minister said a high powered committee on climate change had been constituted, to review policies and monitor progress on climate change initiatives in the country.

The conference is being attended by experts from South Asia to discuss the implications of climate change on the region in general and on Pakistan in particular.

Gilani said a number of initiatives have already been rolled out by the government to study the impact of climate change, and increase resilience through adaptation measures in agriculture, water and land management, disasters and health sectors.

“We are also promoting project activities under the Clean Development Mechanism so as to further reduce our carbon footprint,” Gilani said at the conference attended among others by renowned scientist, Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, who has been awarded several international awards in honour of his tremendous contribution, including the shared Nobel Peace Prize.

Prime Minister Gilani termed it “alarming” to note that in a recent vulnerability index published by a group of researchers, Pakistan was rated 12^th on the list of countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

He quoted the Stern Review, that was conducted by United Kingdom, that stated that the overall costs and risks of climate change will be equivalent to losing at least 5 percent of GDP each year.

“If a wider range of risks and impacts is taken into account, the estimates of damage could rise to 20 percent of GDP, or more.”

He said it means that for a developing country like Pakistan, climate change was an economic and development issue as well as an environmental issue.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan has shown a strong commitment to play an effective role in the global effort to combat climate change.

He pointed that at the 14^th session of the climate change convention in Poznan-Poland, Pakistan expressed a strong commitment to further work on the Bali Roadmap, and to reach to a final commitment; to be decided at the fifteenth session of the convention in Copenhagen this year.

Gilani said the present democratic government has given top priority to the subject, declaring 2009 to be the Year of the Environment.

He said environment was also an important part of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s manifesto in the 2008 elections.

“And it will continue to be one of the top priorities of our government,” Gilani vowed.

He said a very intensive, objectives-led plan was being chalked out to celebrate the Year of Environment, which will focus on all aspects of environment in general and climate change in particular.

During 2009, the government will make a concerted effort to effectively implement existing national policies and necessary measures will be taken to achieve the desired outcome through an integrated approach.

Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan was already facing higher glacial melt, prolonged droughts, flash floods, cyclones, hot winters and early summers. He said it was affecting Pakistan’s water resources and agricultural productivity, which was the backbone of its economy.

The Prime Minister said although Pakistan was an insignificant contributor to global carbon emissions, it will nevertheless work towards further reducing its emissions.

He said it could be achieved through energy conservation and improved energy efficiency, tapping renewable sources of energy, promoting alternate energy generation and sustainable transport, working towards sustainable agriculture, reducing deforestation, and improving environmental management in all sectors.

He said Pakistan was also taking initiatives to address climate change through better air quality management in urban centres, by promoting sustainable public transport through the introduction of CNG buses, better fuel quality and improved vehicular technology.

He congratulated the Ministry of Environment and the IUCN for organising the conference.

“We share his concerns regarding the implications of climate change for the world’s poor and developing nations. We highly regard his tremendous contribution to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change and for his efforts to assess information relevant to understanding climate change.”

The inaugural session was attended by Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi, Federal Minister for Environment, Dr. Rajendara Kumar Pachauri, Chairman Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, Advisor Science and Technology, Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji, Regional Director IUCN Asia and Javed Jabbar, Regional Councillor IUCN.