SUMMARY of the Article “COP in Pakistan,” Aisha Khan, Dawn, August 19th, 2024
The article addresses the pressing need for effective climate governance in Pakistan, emphasizing the challenges of policy implementation after the 18th Amendment. Despite the existence of comprehensive policies like the National Climate Change Policy 2021 and the National Water Policy 2018, there is a significant gap between policy formation and implementation due to weak institutional structures and unclear responsibilities. The 18th Amendment has decentralized climate governance, leading to each province developing its own climate policies, but without a strong mechanism for the federal government to enforce these at the provincial level. The Pakistan Climate Act 2017, which aimed to enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Climate Change and foster coordination between the center and provinces, has been slow to operationalize, raising concerns about procedural inefficiency. The article highlights the lack of human capital and merit-based recruitment as major obstacles to effective climate action, leading to a critical capacity crisis. To address these challenges, the writer proposes the establishment of an annual Conference of the Parties (COP) within Pakistan, modeled after the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This domestic COP would facilitate coordinated climate action, enhance transparency, and hold stakeholders accountable. The article also stresses the importance of judicial and parliamentary oversight in ensuring that climate policies are not undermined by vested interests, urging » Read More…