Senator Sherry Rehman Criticizes MoCCE’s Egregious Lack of Coordination

Islamabad: Chairing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman along with the Committee members expressed serious concerns about the Ministry of Climate Change’s planning, priorities and preparedness in addressing Pakistan’s climate and environmental policies .

The meeting was attended by key stakeholders, including Coordinator for Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam, the Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change, and officials from relevant departments.Pakistan Lauds Qatar’s Support in Climate Resilience

Senator Rehman expressed her profound disappointment with the Ministry’s presentation on climate change. “I am appalled at the lack of clarity, coordination, and capacity displayed in the presentation. As the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee, I expected to see a clear strategic plan, priorities, and initiatives to address this pressing issue.

Marking the urgency and scale of the challenges Pakistan faces , Senator Rehman said that climate change is a national crisis requiring a coordinated, yet technically proficient response . “I am shocked to see an outdated last century presentation with no clear priorities, no flagship initiatives, and no strategic NDC agenda or updates.

The Senator also voiced grave concerns over the Ministry’s lack of ownership of key initiatives and policies, with a routinised approach that had little hope of impacting policy outcomes or meeting national commitments. She called for a redesign of priorities as well as the development of a tailored climate finance strategy by the Ministry to meet the country’s specific needs and sensibilities. “What is also worrying is the profound level of disconnect within the ministry with its own institutional mandate.

It is the ministry’s job to forge strategic partnerships and communication with other ministries, but the institutions within the Ministry of Climate Change are not even coordinating among themselves. The Committee was appalled at the egregious lack of coordination amongst the Ministry’s own departments,” Senator Rehman pointed out.

Senator Rehman stressed the need for a comprehensive communication strategy to raise public awareness about climate change. She also critiqued the Ministry for its lack of awareness about plastic regulation and its failure to track Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). “It is astonishing that the Ministry is unaware of the plastics regulation while it was on the agenda, and there is no tracking of our NDCs,” she asserted.