Over 490 mn tonnes of harmful gases polluting air in Pakistan: Report

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 6 : As many as 490 million tonnes of different greenhouse gas emissions are being discharged from coal power plants in Pakistan that cause gross air pollution in the country, the Daily Times reported.

The emissions come from different fields related to power and energy included as energy, electric generation, and electricity generation from coal, according to a document of the climate change ministry submitted at the National Assembly (NA).

According to the report, power generation accounts for 53.40 million tonnes of the energy sector's emissions, while coal-fired electricity generation accounts for 8.05 million tonnes.

The document stated that in addition to these greenhouse emissions, coal power generation also releases short-lived air pollutants into the atmosphere, such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. These emissions also contribute to air pollution, particularly in the areas where power generation occurs.

The Ministry of Climate Change launched the National Clean Air Policy (NCAP) to address this issue. According to policy, the issue of persistent smog in the nation's major cities and ever-rising air pollution would be tackled.

Its motive is to improve the health of citizens, reduce annual deaths due to air pollution, improve food security and to expand economic activity.

As per the Dawn report, under the plan, the NCAP will reduce PM 2.5 emissions by 38 per cent by 2030 compared to the baseline scenario and by 21 per cent compared to 2020 levels by 2040. The policy further determined that in transport the euro 5 and euro 6 fuel quality standards will be implemented throughout the country, enforcement of emissions standards will be ensured in the industries in letter and spirit, burning of residues in the agriculture sector and open burning of municipal solid waste would be banned completely. Through this policy, as per Ministry of climate change, key interventions will achieve even larger emission reductions, reducing emissions by 81 per cent.

Minister for climate change Sherry Rehman, earlier, informed the house that as per an international report, Pakistan had been ranked globally in the top ten countries most affected by climate change in the past 20 years owing to its geographical location while the country lost 0.53 per cent per unit GDP, extreme weather events from 1999 to 2018.

She cited reports warning that if an appropriate strategy is not developed in this regard, Pakistan could suffer economic losses of 9.1 per cent of its GDP, an increase in dry days, and a 77 per cent reduction in agricultural productivity.

The minister said that more than 33 million people were hit by floods last year. Many residents in various locations, particularly in Balochistan, Jacobabad, Nawabshah, and Sibi, suffered greatly from the heat waves. Additionally, she claimed that more than 100,000 indigenous chilgoza trees were burned during a fire in the Koh-e-Sulaiman Range and that the annual revenue from these trees was almost Rs 3 billion.

Rehman said that despite a meagre overall contribution to greenhouse gases in the country was greatly affected by climate threats including waste stress, desertification, glacier melting, extreme weather events and the spread of diseases, adding that these threats pose severe challenges to the country in terms of ecology, agriculture, economic development and sustainability of no visual benefit, Dawn reported.