Pakistan Working With US To Unlock Climate-resilient Ecosystem Amid Unstable Environment: Masood Khan

WASHINGTON, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Jan, 2023 ) :Pakistan is working closely with the United States to unlock a climate-resilient ecosystem that would adapt to worldwide weather changes and their impacts, Pakistani Ambassador Masood Khan said Friday.

In a keynote address at a discussion, organized by Baker Institute at Rice University, Houston, Texas, he said that recent initiatives, including, Green Alliance and Climate Smart Agriculture will benefit farmers and create a framework for conserving water, building small dams and improving yields of staple crops like wheat, rice and cotton Taking part in the virtual discussion were US policymakers, members of the think-tank community, intelligentsia and area experts.

Ambassador Khan said that Pakistan's entire ecosystem was sensitive to extreme weather patterns. "With the help of the International Financial Institutions, we have initiated reforms for water conservation, transition to modern agricultural technologies, re-afforestation, wastewater management and water metering," he said.

He said that Pakistan, fully cognizant of the serious challenges being faced in the fields of energy and water security, was taking consistent steps to improve its power generation through diversification of its energy mix.

In the past decade, he said, Pakistan had commissioned more than 10 GW of new power generation and 1 GW of wind and solar power-based projects. However, he observed, the gap was still very wide that needs to be bridged.

"We need to further diversify our energy mix and decrease our dependence on oil and gas imports by focusing on indigenous resources," he stated.

Masood Khan said that alternate energy, especially solar and wind, was a growth industry in Pakistan and may well be a long-term viable solution for meeting Pakistan's energy demands.

Pakistan, he said, was also working with the US to improve the efficiency of the agriculture sector and water management.

"What we value most is the growing interest and exposure of the US private sector in these areas, independently and through the US International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC)," he continued.

"Import of US energy and agriculture technology, as well as US-supported indigenous production of green technologies, is of critical importance," the Ambassador stressed.

Highlighting efforts to promote mutual linkages, university-to university partnerships, especially between agriculture universities, he said that Pakistan had a nascent interface with the US in agritech which was poised to develop further.

The Ambassador also underscored the need for a fair and just distribution of waters under the Indus Waters Treaty which, he said, was key to energy and water security and regional stability.

"Building a number of dams on the upper riparian parts of the rivers under Indian control erodes trust and creates myriad crises for Pakistan that include flooding, droughts, water scarcity and disruption of energy supplies. The outstanding issues must be resolved quickly and definitively," he added.