Pakistan to develop climate-resilient cities to promote green economy

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) — Romina Khurshid Alam, coordinator to the Pakistani prime minister on climate change and environmental coordination, has said the country has been taking measures to develop climate-resilient cities to promote a green economy.
“The government is taking all-out measures and implementing policies and frameworks to create sustainable urban environments for making cities environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient, withstanding the impacts of climate change while improving the quality of life for residents,” the official said during a meeting on Thursday.
She said that climate change-caused extreme weather events, particularly heatwaves and urban flooding accidents, are posing grave risks to the lives and livelihoods of the people and public infrastructure.
The country’s major cities, including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Islamabad, are facing significant climate risks with increasing temperatures, erratic rainfall, and rising sea levels, Alam said, while emphasizing that the need for climate adaptation strategies has never been more urgent. ■