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The challenge of climate change and policy response in Pakistan

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Abstract

Climate change is expected to have adverse impact on Pakistan. This is ironical for a country, which ranks 135th in the world in terms of global green house gases (GHG) emissions per capita, but ranks 16th in terms of vulnerability to climate change. Climate change poses a major threat to all dimensions of sustainable development and has widespread impacts across various sectors and ecosystems such as food, water and energy; forests and biodiversity; coastal and marine environment; as well as on the occurrence and intensity of climate related hazards such as floods and drought. It also carries potential for internal and external conflicts. The paper examines the present and potential impact of climate change in Pakistan, and reviews national policies and plans to examine the extent to which climate-related issues have been integrated within these. The paper also discusses adaptation and mitigation measures and identifies the key elements that need to be included in the Climate Change Action Plan of Pakistan and stresses their mainstreaming into the national development policies and plans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography and Urban and Regional Planning, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan

    Mohammad Aslam Khan & Zulfiqar Ali

  2. Ministry of Climate Change, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Jawed Ali Khan

  3. Department of Horticulture, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan

    Imran Ahmad

  4. Department of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan

    Muhammad Nauman Ahmad

Authors
  1. Mohammad Aslam Khan
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  2. Jawed Ali Khan
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  3. Zulfiqar Ali
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  4. Imran Ahmad
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  5. Muhammad Nauman Ahmad
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Correspondence to Muhammad Nauman Ahmad.

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Khan, M.A., Khan, J.A., Ali, Z. et al. The challenge of climate change and policy response in Pakistan. Environ Earth Sci 75, 412 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-5127-7

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