ISLAMABAD, May 27: The current climate change resulting in global warming is the greatest challenge facing the world and nuclear power is a ready option to replace the sources of energy production causing this warming. This was stated by Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Strategic Programme Dr Ishfaq Ahmad at a seminar on Global Warming: Causes, Adaptation and Mitigation, organized by Pakistan Nuclear Society here on Friday.

Global warming is inducing the melting of glaciers which will result in high sea levels causing the submerging of many parts of the world. This change, appearing in extreme and unpredictable weather conditions, is threatening the water availability, crop yields, biodiversity and human health, Dr Ahmad said.

Global warming is being caused by greenhouse gases, produced due to burning of oil in industry and transport, specially the electricity-producing plants using oil as fuel. And only mitigating option available to us is the use of nuclear power which produces no greenhouse gases and other pollutants, he said.

Dr Ahmad said nuclear energy was already meeting 17 per cent of world’s energy demand and could replace the fossil fuel plants because it was safe, cost-competitive and environment- friendly. This necessity has been realized all over the world and all the relevant forums hold the firm view that nuclear energy is the only alternative to meeting the demand for clean electricity without any environmental implications. Pakistan is also embarking upon an ambition nuclear power programme. Other clean sources of electricity like hydro, solar and wind have their own role, he added.

He said developing countries of South Asia were most vulnerable to climate change as their agriculture-based economies were climate sensitive. Being technologically backward, they have little capacity to adapt to the climate changes and lack financial capacity to face ravages of adverse climate.

Other measures to mitigate the effect of greenhouse gases include enhancement of forests, energy conservation, improvement in fuel efficiency, disposal of carbon dioxide in depleted gas fields and its disposal under the sea but it involves costly solutions, the adviser said.

In order to bring about reduction in unwanted greenhouse gases coming from vehicular emissions, experiments to run the transport on hydrogen fuel are underway and this option is as yet uneconomical due to production cost of hydrogen. Nuclear energy has a role here again as being the only energy input which can produce hydrogen without greenhouse gases. Production of hydrogen through oil energy will cause the production of gases which are required to be eliminated, Dr Ahmad said.

On the adaptation measures, he suggested construction of new dams for increased water storage, improved irrigation practices, development of crop varieties as per climate changes, capacity building of farmers for adjustment to changed seasons, and genetic research in livestock sector for minimizing the adverse effects of heat stresses.

The adviser said the vital climate change research remained essentially neglected in Pakistan in the past, but in view of its significance in socio-economic domain, the government had initiated multidisciplinary efforts in this regard. A Global Change Impact Study Centre is conducting an organized study on the subject.