Monitoring Desk
WASHINGTON: Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan has said that Pakistan was working closely with the US to unlock a climate-resilient ecosystem that would adapt to worldwide weather changes and their impacts,
Addressing a gathering, organized by Baker Institute at Rice University, Houston, Texas on Friday, the ambassador said that recent initiatives, including, Green Alliance and Climate Smart Agriculture will be beneficial for farmers and will create a framework for conserving water, building small dams and improving yields of staple crops like wheat, rice, cotton, etc.
US policymakers, intelligentsia, members of the think-tank community, and area experts also participated in the discussion virtually.
Masood Khan on Pak Ecosystem
Ambassador Masood Khan said that Pakistan’s entire ecosystem was sensitive to extreme weather situations and with the support of International Financial Institutions, “we have taken steps for water conservation, transition to modern agricultural methods, re-afforestation, wastewater management, and water metering,” he said.
The envoy said that Pakistan, fully cognizant of the alarming challenges being faced in the fields of water security and energy was taking consistent steps to further improve its power generation through diversification and modernizing of its energy mix.
Pak Efforts in Energy Sector
He further said that in the past decade, Pakistan had commissioned more than 10 GW of new power generation and 1 GW of wind and solar power-based projects in the country, however, the gap was still very wide that needs to be bridged adding that the country required to diversify energy mix further and decrease the reliance on oil and gas imports by focusing on indigenous resources.
The ambassador said that Pakistan was also working with the US to improve the efficiency of the agriculture sector and water management adding that it was important to encourage the growing interest and exposure of the US private sector in these areas, independently and through the US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC).
US Role in Pak Energy, Environment Sectors
“Import of US energy and agriculture technology, along with US-assisted indigenous production of green technologies, is of crucial importance,” the Envoy stressed.
Underling efforts to promote mutual linkages, and university-to-university partnerships, particularly between agriculture universities, Masood Khan said that Pakistan had a nascent interface with the United States in agritech which was poised to develop further.
Masood Khan also highlighted the need for a fair and just distribution of waters according to the Indus Waters Treaty which, he said, was a major key to energy and water security and regional stability in the region.
“Building several dams on the upper parts of the river banks under Indian control destroys trust and creates myriad crises for Pakistan, including flooding, water scarcity, droughts, and disruption of energy supplies. The outstanding issues must be resolved promptly and definitively,” he added.
