The National Assembly Standing Committee on Climate Change Monday expressed concerns over recent delegation visit lead by the Ministry of Climate Change at the global environmental moot of COP-26 and directed the Ministry to audit performance of the country’s pavilion set to project flagship achievements of ecosystem restoration.
The NA body chaired by Member National Assembly (MNA) Munaza Hassan expressed their resentment over absence of SAPM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam from the committee meeting and directed the Secretary Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) to provide details of the delegation and their expenses to the Forum.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairperson Munaza Hassan said the Ministry should also hold an internal discussion on the pavilion being set at the international environmental conference held at Glasgow where, the members of the Committee who attended COP-26 had also expressed their dissatisfaction over the pavilion’s decoration and performance.
The chair also sought a detailed report from the Ministry on the rules of various multilateral environmental protocols signed by the country, where the rules were not being developed yet. She also informed the newly joined Secretary MoCC Captain (R) Sikander Qayyum that the Committee had a knowledge hub based on academia, experts and civil society that it used to consult for technical matters and he should consult the relevant experts on this matter. The chair deferred for agenda items over the absence of the members and parliamentarians concerned who moved those Bills on the floor of the House.
MNA Ali Gohar Khan presented his Pakistan Environmental Protection Act Amendment Bill 2021 in the Section 2-A which recommended the forum to ban rapid sprawl of housing societies into the arid lands and should set clear thresholds for human settlements other than arid areas and also specify zones for development alongwith the provinces.
The chair directed the MoCC and quarters concerned to work out his proposal and ensure amendment with all stakeholders on board. She also directed to write a letter of displeasure over the absence of representatives of the Law Division at the Forum.
MNA Romina Khursheed Alam and Major (R) Tahir Sadiq raised questions over the recent COP-26 delegation visit of the MoCC and requested the chairperson to direct the Ministry officials to provide complete details and documentary evidences of the delegation participants. Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul informed the committee that Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Plantation (TBTTP) was the largest flagship initiative in the national history. “During my participation at COP-26, I attended two sidelines events on TBTTP and GLOF projects of Pakistan that have bagged huge international attention of the youth and others on successful ecosystem restoration efforts,” she added.
She said the government has provided Rs14 billion from PSDP and no international funding was received from international donor agencies for TBTTP so far. Zartaj added that the MoCC would ensure audit of TBTTP as transparency was the hallmark of the incumbent government.
