KARACHI, Sept 16: The government will soon introduce an energy conservation plan in the country. This was stated by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz here on Friday. He was speaking as chief guest at a ceremony held at the Governor House to mark the International Ozone Day.

He said Ozone Day would remind decision makers and people of the need to protect Ozone, a valuable shield that safeguards earth.

“We will have to fight global warming”, he said and added that for its part the government was taking a number of measures for improvement of environment.

He said there was a full-fledged minister for environment who was doing a lot in this field.

The PM said effluent treatment plants were being installed while the Environmental Protection Agencies (EPAs) at the federal and provincial levels were being activated.

He said that the government was also introducing an energy conservation plan and he had formed a group which had worked on this aspect.

“Energy conservation is the way to go ahead”, he pointed out, adding this would help improve environment reduce expenditures and protect the ozone layer.

Mr Aziz said flow of traffic should also be streamlined and traffic jams be avoided so that there was less emission of gases and more saving of fuel.

He said: “We should do whatever we can for protection of environment and in this regard steps be taken collectively as well as individually.”

Shaukat Aziz said role of district, city, provincial and federal governments in environmental protection was significant but other stakeholders, including industrial sector, should also contribute to their efforts.

The PM said a sense of responsibility should be fostered among the people. He asked the media to come up with ideas for energy conservation.— APP