Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam on Thursday said that her Ministry under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was taking steps to combat plastic pollution and collaborating with provincial governments to introduce climate-friendly buildings for enhancing urban landscapes. Talking to PTV news channel, she said that green and sustainable building practices in the country’s housing and construction sector will promote sustainable living and moderate consumption to conserve energy and limited natural resources. She said the present government has been at the forefront of promoting sustainable construction practices in the country through various policies and regulations. Replying to a question, she said that with the green building codes, the ministry will try to increase tree cover and improve air quality, adding, the construction of green buildings will also support in achieving certain benefits, in line with the sustainable development goals. Talking about the heatwave she said that the prime minister already notified committees with the collaboration of provincial governments, adding, NDMA and experts were also being taken on board to discuss the solutions and to move forward for urban forestation. She said the government is committed to overcoming the challenge of growing plastic pollution and all the stakeholders concerned are being approached and taken on board to make Pakistan a plastic-free country. Romina Alam said that plastic pollution was a major cause of environmental degradation but tackling it was a daunting challenge because of the massive use of plastic goods in the country, adding that the Climate Change Ministry also launched awareness drives in schools with the theme of My water My bottle to overcome the use of plastic bottles. She also mentioned that her ministry has also introduced a newsletter on the website related to the overall performance of the department where our upcoming and ongoing projects will also be highlighted. The government is also pursuing a zero-tolerance policy against timber mafia and forest fire incidents and no one will be allowed to cut even a single tree in the future, she added.