Recent Pakistan Floods are the worst revenge of nature. It’s a disastrous impact of Climate Change, mostly a man-made phenomenon. World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates of losses and damages cross over US$ 40 Billion. We could get a fraction of it so far in aid for rescue and relief. No hardcore assurances, promises or commitments visible so far despite the Pakistani government and the UN’s global appeals for generous support for flood-affected ones. The world has seen one-third of Pakistan drowned in flood water of the carbon emissions of the developed countries. At the moment, millions are waiting under the open sky for generous humanitarian support under “climate justice.”
The actual culprits behind climate change are fossil fuel producers and large consumers. They all are deeply silent while insufficient humanitarian aid is adding more woes to Pakistan flood victims. All appeals by the world leaders could not bother them – the large consumers and producers of fossil fuels. We don’t see any oil and gas producing companies, the actual perpetrators of climate-induced disasters, coming forward to contribute generously. A meagre contribution would not work while early recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation phases are around the corner.
Remember, what the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said during his Pakistan visit: Humanity has been waging war on nature, and nature strikes back. But nature strikes back in a country that has not made the emissions of greenhouse gases that have accelerated climate change so dramatically. So, there is a very unfair situation. And so, the international community needs to understand three things, and obviously, developed countries have a key role to play in international financial institutions, joining them. First, Pakistan today needs massive financial support to overcome this crisis. This is not a matter of generosity, it’s a matter of justice. Second, we need to stop the madness with which we are treating nature. According to the scientific community, we need to reduce emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. Now is the time to immensely reduce emissions. This will be essential in the discussions in Cairo [COP27].
Our mountain communities upstream are suffering from the climate impact caused by fossil fuels.
Good signs that the US is back to the Paris Agreement. Many thanks to President Joe Biden for taking several measures to show the US firm commitment to cutting down the Greenhouse Gas emissions. President Biden has also urged the developed nations to generously support the victims of the Pakistan floods, a historic climate calamity. Meanwhile, the United States and partner organizations continue to provide support for Pakistan’s recovery from disastrous floods that have affected 33 million people. The U.S. government has provided more than US$56 million in flood relief and humanitarian assistance for Pakistan this year. More than US$50 million of the assistance has come through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The State Department provided an additional US$2 million to support the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees’ response effort in Pakistan. Indeed appreciable.
Some oil and gas-producing friendly countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar have also contributed humanitarian aid to Pakistan. But, it seems the oil and gas development companies are intentionally playing blind to the impact of climate change. One can see eyewash interventions in sectors including education, healthcare, water supply, infrastructure development, the livelihood of communities, sports, and some contributions to disasters. Not much, just a fraction of what they should be doing.
Strangely, environmental conservation, awareness raising and advocacy on climate change are not on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda of the oil and gas development companies. Like many other corporations, they are over-excavating and deep mining the subsurface natural resources of billions of dollars annually. By 2020, 50 Oil and Gas Development Companies (OGDCs) including 15 Local and 35 Foreign were working in Pakistan to explore and produce oil and other natural resources. But, their contribution under CSR is negligible as compared to the damage they do to the subsurface, and the havoc their produce plays with the local and global environment, ecosystems, and human health.
We are fast losing biological diversity. Our glaciers are receding fast. The smog and heatwave have increased to the red point. Extreme events have not only impacted people downstream but become the limelight. Our mountain communities upstream are suffering from the climate impact caused by fossil fuels. But, they have no outreach to the decision-makers downstream. Their land, lives and livelihood, heritage and culture are under severe threat. No Oil and Gas Development Company has the challenges of mountains and its communities on its CSR agenda. At least, they shall learn from Nepal to value their mountain treasures, land and its products, culture and people.
Minister of State for Petroleum Senator Dr Musadik Malik, a visionary political genius and a development practitioner, shall take all OGDCs working in Pakistan on board for an integrated and cohesive CSR strategy with obligatory investments supporting mountain conservation, promoting and mainstreaming their climate challenge downstream, and supporting initiatives to promote communities and their environmental and cultural heritage. The OGDCs shall support national climate advocacy and youth engagement programme. It is the sheer responsibility of the fossil fuel producers to pay back to communities and prepare a climate-resilient young generation.
The writer is a freelance journalist and broadcaster, and Director Devcom-Pakistan. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com and tweets @EmmayeSyed