KARACHI: The civic crisis Karachi faces today can worsen if it remains without an action plan that could make the densely populated city green, climate-friendly and sustainable. This can be done through development policies and strategies aimed at reducing carbon emissions and promoting use of renewable energy.

These points were discussed by experts engaged in a two-day workshop which concluded at a local hotel on Friday.

The event was part of a project titled ‘Introducing renewable energy solutions to enhance energy security and build climate resilience in Karachi,’ which is being implemented by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) in collaboration with WWF-Sweden and K-Electric in selected union councils of the city.

The workshop aimed at building capacity of relevant government departments and other stakeholders on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory development, its reporting process, besides highlighting climate change adaptation and mitigation-related initiatives in Karachi, an exercise which would help register Karachi with the One Planet City Challenge (OPCC) — a global WWF initiative that recognises and rewards cities making themselves climate-friendly.

“The Global Climate Risk Index 2017 ranks Pakistan seventh in the list of countries most affected by climate change in the last two decades. The country has been experiencing reduction in freshwater availability, increase in social inequalities that could lead to instability, displacement of people and conflicts on use of local resources,” Pamela Caba­cungan, the lead trainer of the workshop, said.

Ms Cabacungan is a project officer (mitigation) at the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) — Local Governments for Sust­ainability Southeast Asia Secretariat (SEAS), an international association of local governments and national and regional local government organisations that have made a commitment to sustainable development. Emphasising the need for collaboration, she said all relevant stakeholders, including key government departments, should come forward and develop a common understanding in establishing a climate change agenda.

“The host of issues Karachi is experiencing right now can worsen in immediate future due to climate change. Development and implementation of an effective action plan is the need of [the] hour,” she observed.

Marvin T. Lagonera representing ICLEI-SEAS said that completing the citywide inventory would help collect data on the sources of greenhouse emissions from specific sectors such as transport, waste and energy.

“This would help prioritise the sectors in terms of climate change adaptation and mitigation. An essential part of this process is to engage relevant stakeholders and partners in raising awareness, developing capacity and to ensure that these processes are institutionalised,” he said.

Mohammad Moazzam Khan, technical adviser on marine fisheries at WWF-P, said that being a coastal city, Karachi had immense potential to produce renewable energy through tidal flow, waves and wind resources.

“Karachi used to be the best city in the British era due to its 100 per cent treatment of sewage and recycling of waste water, which was used for agriculture purposes. Housing in the 1950s and 1960s had septic tanks and wind catchers,” he observed.

These measures, he pointed out, helped in reducing greenhouse emissions and dependence on electricity.

“If the present government and all relevant stakeholders take adequate measures, Karachi could become the most energy-efficient city of the world,” he suggested.

Zehra Mehdi, deputy director of sustainability and corporate social responsibility at K-Electric informed the workshop participants about the steps her company was taking towards reducing the country’s carbon footprint.

“We are striving to bring all installations to zero emissions and ensure energy conservation. The company is also at the forefront of nominating Karachi for the OPCC,” she said.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2017