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ISLAMABAD, Sep 08 (APP):Renowned global scholar on sustainable development, former Chairman HEC and former founding Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Dr. Tariq Banuri, on Monday called for shifting policy formulation from clientelism to national needs.
In his distinguished lecture on Natural Disasters, Climate Change and Policy Response organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), the scholar identified the erosion of institutional capacity and human resource quality, along with corruption and weak accountability, as the key reasons behind poor implementation, said a press release issued on Monday.
He added that initiatives such as the NDMA system, the Billion Tree Tsunami, mass transit projects, renewable energy adoption, and strengthened meteorological services have contributed to climate response.
Comparing Pakistan’s trajectory with China, Dr. Banuri emphasized the need for an “objective-driven” policy approach along with strengthening of relevant institutions, capacity buildup of relevant expert and skilled human resource and allocation of required finances to ensure effective implementation of frameworks and policies.
He cited China’s export-led green strategy, heavy investment in research, subsidies for renewable energy and electric vehicle industries, and long-term institutional development, as a model.
Dr. Banuri noted that Pakistan is among the top ten most impacted nations by climate change, with projections showing that its average temperature rise will exceed global averages by one degree Celsius in this century.
“We are entering what the IPCC calls the age of committed climate change. The window for action is short and closing fast,” he stressed.
Dr. Banuri underlined that despite decades of climate policies including the National Climate Change Policy (2012), its implementation framework (2013), and the Climate Change Act (2017), Pakistan has fallen short of achieving key climate targets.
Chief Coordinator to the Prime Minister for Government Performance and Innovation, Mosharraf Zaidi, contributing to the discussion, underscored that policymaking should be rooted in securing people’s lives, livelihoods, and dignity. He argued that Pakistan’s challenge is not the absence of frameworks but the failure to create institutions capable of delivering results at the grassroots level.
In response to a question on regional models, Dr. Banuri pointed to Bangladesh’s “living with floods” strategy as an example of pragmatic adaptation, suggesting that Pakistan too must embrace innovative and inclusive approaches.
He concluded with a strong call for building strong, independent institutions, investing in education and research, and shifting from short-term transactionalism to long-term resilience planning.