STAFF REPORT ISB: Pakistan has better chances of economic growth by adapting to the Paris agreement on climate change, rather than going against the current, Dr Tariq Banuri, professor of economics at the University of Utah, USA, said.
He was recently giving a talk on sustainable development goals (SDGs) in post-Paris agreement at the SDPI in Islamabad.
“If we do not adopt now, it would become difficult to get any assistance in face of climate related disasters,” he said adding after MDGs, SDGs look forward to poverty elevation in next 15 years and it has to be done in the framework of the Paris agreement.
He said the accord, signed by 187 countries out of 198, was a breakthrough as it brought agreement on keeping global warming level between 1.5 and 2 degree Celsius. It also emphasises to reach a balance between global emissions and sinks by second half of the century, he said.
He said industrialised countries should have absolute targets, whereas, developing countries should move over time towards economy-wide reduction targets.
Paris agreement is everything but a major step forward in international mitigation policy, the agreement concludes. “The key message is that it combines bottom-up emission pledges with a soft international regulatory architecture and market mechanisms are reinstated, as key instrument,” he said. Much work was needed in next years to put flesh on the bones, he maintained.