A conference on tackling the issue of air pollution is currently underway at the Expo Centre in Lahore as part of DawnMedia’s ‘Breathe Pakistan’ initiative.
The conference is being held with the aim of shedding on actionable solutions, fosters high-level dialogue, and driving collective action for cleaner air in Pakistan. Sessions are covering a broad range of themes, including governance and policy frameworks, financing clean air, smog and industrial responsibility, judicial activism, public health impacts, nationwide air quality standards, and regional cooperation on transboundary pollution.
Find out more about the agenda for today’s conference here.
01:05pm: Environmental lawyer Rafay Alam says improvements in environment not overnight solutions
Rafay Alam, an environmental lawyer, said that while people liked to have a clean environment, they had cosmetic superficial ambitions in this regard.
“Look at it this way: you have to use the black and white of printed policy paper to manifest the change the quality of the outside air. That requires an immense and very accurate amount of data. You can’t do it without that.”
He went on to say that most improvements in the environment were not overnight solutions and took time.
12:50pm — Session on ‘Financing Clean Air for Pakistan’ begins
World Bank Senior Environment Specialist Shafick Hoossein started off the session by giving a presentation as part of the session ‘Financing Clean Air for Pakistan’.
Hoossein stated that 99pc of the world’s population breathes air that does not meet the WHO standards. Out of international development funds, only 1pc is provided to address the issue of air quality, he added.
Fatima Attarwala, editor at Dawn’s Business & Finance weekly, is moderating the session. In her remarks, she said that the conversation would focus on how to make air pollution work for Pakistan.
