Moot under DawnMedia’s ‘Breathe Pakistan’ initiative will spotlight actionable solutions and drive collective action for cleaner air in Pakistan.
A conference[1] on tackling the issue of air pollution[2] has begun at the Expo Centre in Lahore as part of DawnMedia’s ‘Breathe Pakistan[3]’ initiative.
Air pollution has become one of the most pressing public health and environmental crises facing Pakistan, and Lahore in particular is no stranger to this phenomenon.
The conference is being organised in collaboration with the United Nations and the Government of Punjab. The Pakistan Business Council will be a knowledge partner, while Ipsos, Climate Forward Pakistan and Carbon Track will be research partners.
The conference will spotlight actionable solutions, foster high-level dialogue, and drive collective action for cleaner air in Pakistan. Sessions will cover a broad range of themes, including governance and policy frameworks, financing[4] clean air, smog and industrial responsibility, judicial activism[5], public health impacts, nationwide air quality standards, and regional cooperation on transboundary pollution[6].
Notable speakers expected to speak at today’s moot include Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, federal and provincial ministers, Supreme Court’s Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Ayesha Malik, and Lahore High Court’s Justice Jawad Hassan.
Senior United Nations’ officials, global health experts, economists, and corporate leaders are also set to give their insights on the pressing matter.
The initiative is also supported by leading commercial stakeholders and several other public and private organisations, including English Biscuit Manufacturers, Bank of Punjab, Punjab’s Environment Protection & Climate Change Department, OMODA & JAECOO-Nishat Group and NDMRF, among others, “reflecting a strong and growing alliance across sectors to address the urgent challenges posed by steeply rising air pollution in Pakistan,” DawnMedia stated.
Find out more about the agenda for today’s conference here[7].
11:30am — Pakistan located in a ‘geographical trap’, adding to its pollution woes: Silwat Saeed
Silwat Saeed noted that urbanisation has also resulted in the “huge menace of smog”, but it was also a manifestation of deteriorated air quality, which becomes palpable because of temperature inversions.
The Punjab’s environment official further highlighted that Pakistan was located in a “geographical trap” that added to its pollution woes.
“The northern area of this entire region is actually the foothill of the Himalayas, and the foothills would act as a lid when all the pollutants from the region get trapped and then they whirl around within the cities in the region, not only in Pakistan but also in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.”
11:24am — Session 2 on a ‘greener Punjab’ begins
Silwat Saeed, secretary of Punjab’s Environment Protection and Climate Change Department, kicked off the day’s second session, ‘A Greener Punjab To Combat Air Pollution’.
She appreciated DawnMedia for “uniting” her department to speak about how environmental governance is being transformed at the sub-national level.
“This problem is not some distant abstract thing. It is right in front of us.”
She noted that it was not the first time the world was seeing the issue of air pollution, mentioning the advancement in industrialisation in Europe during the last century.
11:20am — ‘About 5pc of entire global GDP lost because of pollution’
Mohamed Yahya said that “about $6 trillion annually, about 5pc of the entire global GDP, is lost because of pollution”.
“There’s no better and more heartbreaking place to discuss this issue. I want to congratulate the Dawn group [for organising the conference].”
Recalling last year’s smog, the UN official said the stain was so profound here in Lahore that it was visible from space. “A glaring testament of what needs to be done.”
“The smog is our creation.”
11:18am — ‘Silent pandemic’ of air pollution a global emergency: UN resident coordinator
“The science is clear,” UN’s Yahya said, adding that the numbers should shake everyone. Citing WHO estimates, he pointed out that “99pc of us in this room and 99pc of humanity breathes air that is unsafe”.
“Let that number be something that galvanises us. This is not a distant threat. It’s a global siege. About 7m people lose their lives every year because of the air they breathe.
“It’s a single greatest environmental risk of our lives and a silent pandemic.”
**11:13am — What happens when the air we breathe turns against us?: UN’s Yahya
UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator for Pakistan, Mohamed Yahya, termed the air we breathe as “our most intimate and non-negotiable relationship with our world”.
“It’s not an abstract concept but a fabric of life itself, the substance that fuels our cells, our lungs, our dreams. But what happens when that very substance turns against us? When the air we breathe becomes a slow-acting poison?” he said.
**11:10am — Musadik Malik notes China leading solar revolution after smog problems 10-15 years ago
The climate change minister noted that the South Asian cities of Lahore and New Delhi were not mentioned when the issue of the most polluted cities was highlighted 10-15 years ago.
“The names mentioned were Beijing and Shanghai, and now they are providing 60-75pc of the world’s solar technology. Not only did they fix their cities, but they also led the solar revolution throughout the world to counter the problem they were facing”.
11:04am — Policy in works to update old oil refineries: minister Malik
Hailing the “amazing initiatives” being carried out under CM Maryam Nawaz, the climate minister said 8,000 to 10,000 bikes have been distributed, 600 or 500 e-buses are on the roads or will be launched, and anti-smog guns have been installed.
“We will keep bringing higher standards for fuel. We’ve made a policy to update our old refineries so that oil made, which is harmful to health, can be brought up to the best standards in the world,” the federal minister said, adding that incentives were to be given as well and some companies were working on the policy.
10:55am — Climate minister Musadik Malik calls air pollution a man-made phenomenon
Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik called air pollution a man-made phenomenon, adding that it was up to us to fix it. He noted that climate change and environmental issues were not major objectives in the past and hard work was being carried out to fix this.
He refrained from citing different laws and policies, but said that the federal government and Punjab were doing very good work with regard to climate change.
The minister said around 40pc of children’s lung functioning gets compromised due to polluted air.
He added: “This is not just smog. Also look at it through the lens of death. And it is not just death. Also look at it through the lens of love, and when you see the faces hidden behind the haze, maybe then we will solve the issues more quickly.”
10:45am — Musadik Malik mentions link between life expectancy and air pollution
Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik is addressing the event via a video link, apologising that he could not reach Lahore due to “some special circumstances, as you know”.
“Pollution and all these environmental hazards … they stand in the way of our success,” the minister said.
He recalled that his father had been in a coma during his last days and prayed for “just one more day” for his life. Stressing the importance of life, Malik said five to eight years of the lives of all Lahore residents, including elders, were wasted due to smog.
“We probably do not associate this with the grief and mortality that comes ahead of us because of smog or air pollution,” he said, adding that according to some estimates, 128,000 premature deaths occur in Pakistan every year, and a person’s five to eight years of life are cut short due to air pollution.
10:37am — Mandatory recycling bins in Punjab schools from Oct 30
The Punjab minister also reflected on her recent visits to Japan. “The entire waste management in Japan is for segregated waste, so that technology cannot be brought to Pakistan,” she said.
“So now we’re going to China for that technology and waste incinerators. We’ve started this in schools. We thought schools would be the right place to start this and embed it into our curriculum. After Oct 30, the schools have to keep five recycling bins at schools mandatory,” Aurangzeb said.
10:30am — ‘Transboundary arrangement’ may now be taken up with UN, WB after recent events: Punjab minister
Marriyum Aurangzeb also observed the lack of data regarding air pollution and highlighted the phenomenon of transboundary pollution.
“The major seasonal contributor to high AQI levels in Lahore and Multan … that easterly wind corridor from India plays a critical role and is a major contributor to seasonal AQI levels. We had started a transboundary arrangement but because of recent events, we may take this forward with the UN or World Bank.”
“Breathe Pakistan is a great initiative for spreading awareness … the responsibility is shared, and whatever we choose has consequences on the environment and climate change,” Aurangzeb stressed.
10:26 — ‘Climate Change Vision 2025 tells policy and action plan for next 10 years’
Aurangzeb pointed out that Punjab’s Climate Change Vision 2025 detailed the policy and action plan for the next 10 years.
She highlighted that the Punjab government introduced vehicle fitness certificates for the “first time ever”.
“We are using safe city cameras to identify smoke coming from cars. We have a Punjab Clean Air Programme, which also has a buy-back policy of old vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
’[…] For the first time ever, we have mobile fuel testing labs. EPA Punjab has started fuel testing to test petrol at petrol stations in Punjab. In the last eight months, 1,100 electric buses have arrived in Punjab.“
10:21 — Aurangzeb lists steps taken by Punjab govt to tackle smog
Aurangzeb emphasised that Punjab now had a state-of-the-art environmental force. Listing the steps taken by the provincial government, she said a subsidy programme with 80pc paid by the government was initiated and Lahore Division now had 5,000 superseeders.
Stubble burning zones were mapped, investment was done in the mechanisation of agriculture, and drone monitoring for industrial units is carried out. Around 11,000 brick kilns across the Punjab were also mapped and those without zigzag technology were sealed.
10:17 — Punjab minister details CM Maryam’s smog mitigation plan
The Punjab senior minister recalled the smog mitigation plan launched by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
“When I speak about Punjab interventions, we have completed the entire legal framework. We are now doing AI-predictable modelling for forecasting AQI levels,” Aurangzeb highlighted.
“Localisation of smog mitigation was critical to the intervention, so we took a multi-sectoral lens to smog mitigation,” she said, noting smog guns imported two months ago and deployed in Lahore.
“For predictable forecasting, we have 41 air monitors across Punjab, and will have 100 across Punjab by 2026.”
10:12am — Marriyum Aurangzeb says such initiatives key to tackling climate change issues
Beginning her address, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb noted the presence of “lots of experts, media people and policymakers and civil society”, adding that it reflected the shared responsibility toward climate resilience and climate adaptation.
Thanking DawnMedia for taking the initiative, the Punjab minister said she was a “bit sceptical” when she participated in the February conference. “I did not think it would be a sustainable initiative. So my heartfelt congrats to Naz, to you and the Dawn group for sustaining this initiative because that is the key to issues like climate change.”
“I want other media groups to be made part of this initiative. I will present a case study from our chief minister. Lahore, a heritage hotspot of Pakistan, [and] the heartbeat of Pakistan, is confronted with seasonal smog. This is a year-long phenomenon. AQI levels of Lahore and other regions of Punjab were not satisfactory, so we started working on smog mitigation objectives,” Aurangzeb highlighted.
She said her government was “in shock that we are talking about it in March” when she called a meeting, as the air quality issue is a year-long phenomenon. “We started off with a multi-sectoral lens for climate change.”
10:07am — Dawn CEO Nazafreen stresses commitment to cleaner skies
Inaugurating the moot, Nazafreen Saigol-Lakhani, the CEO of Dawn, says: “On behalf of DawnMedia, it is an honour and my responsibility to welcome you all to Breathe Pakistan’s The Air We Breathe — a critical gathering focused on one of the most urgent challenges, air pollution.”
Recalling the initiative’s launch, she said: “Our aim was to start a national dialogue on climate change. At the first conference, experts came together to issue a charter for a climate-resilient Pakistan.
“Today, The Air We Breathe builds on that momentum. As we enter another smog season, this conference focuses on practical tangible measures to tackle air pollution,” Saigol-Lakhani added.
She further said, “We are helping to weave a living network of collaboration to ensure shared commitments … I hope today’s discussions will inspire collective action and send a strong message that the health of people and the future of Pakistan are not policy points but our priorities.
“Let us commit to cleaner skies and a healthier environment for generations to come.”
9:57am — Conference begins
The conference has begun, with the national anthem being played, followed by the recitation of the Holy Quran.
Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and the UN’s Pakistan Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohamed Yahya are seated ready for the first session.
9:45am — Participants speak to each other ahead of session
9:35am — Guests are seated inside the venue
Guests are seated inside the Expo Centre as the conference is about to kick off.
Wonder what your carbon footprint is? Calculate here[8].
More to follow
References
- ^ conference (www.dawn.com)
- ^ air pollution (www.dawn.com)
- ^ Breathe Pakistan (breatheconferenceagenda.dawn.com)
- ^ financing (www.dawn.com)
- ^ judicial activism (www.dawn.com)
- ^ transboundary pollution (www.dawn.com)
- ^ here (breatheconferenceagenda.dawn.com)
- ^ here (www.dawn.com)