Comsats Centre for Climate Research and Development - CCRD

Events

Clean Environment Awareness Walk

COMSATS organized a walk entitled “Walk for Clean Environment” on June 4th. The Rector of the University Dr. S.M. Junaid Zaidi, Pro-rector, Dr. Haroon-ur-Rasheed and Registrar Prof. Dr. Izhar Hussain joined the teachers and students of the University to raise awareness amongst the common public to use trash bags for disposing of their waste rather than throwing it away on the roads and pavements. Biodegradable bags provided by a non-governmental organization (NGO) Go Green, were distributed among the participants. The walk was mainly organized by the Center for Climate Research and Development (CCRD) of COMSATS University. Participation by a huge number of students and professors form across the University showed their keen interest in improving the environment. Participants were holding banners and placards bearing slogans such as “we want clean environment for our children, don’t throw your waste on the roads, keep your environment clean like yourself”. The University administration appreciated the efforts of the staff from CCRD and distributed shields amongst the organizers. The Pro-Rector emphasized the need to organize such activities on a large scale to educate the public about the importance of having a clean environment.

The “World Wide Views on Climate and Energy” debate in Pakistan was inaugurated by the Minister for Climate Change, Mushaidullah Khan and the founder of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) Tariq Banuri on June 6th. The planetary debate was hosted by COMSATS University and organised jointly by SDPI and the Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD) with support from the Embassy of France.

Abid Suleri, the head of SDPI who welcomed the guests and citizens described the debate as “learning from stakeholders and people” in order to strengthen people’s resilience. “We will learn what people think of the climate change and the energy challenges facing Earth and how they can be solved ”. Tariq Banuri gave a brief history of how human beings have destroyed ecosystems on Earth (more than 50% of the world’s forests are gone) and described the crisis that is now endangering the entire planet. The result of climate change is that Pakistan is now facing more cyclones in the Arabian Sea, the number and intensity of floods in Pakistan has increased, there is now Dengue Fever in the country due to rising temperatures and our ice packs in the high mountains are melting. Even our monsoons are becoming erratic so climate change is indeed a very serious issue. Fossil fuels will clearly destroy us so we have to make the switch to renewable energy. “It is the only solution; we need a form of energy that will not destroy the planet”.

The Minister for Climate Change, Mushaidullah Khan, took credit for the PML(N) government launching the Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metro bus service on World Environment Day, pointing out that they are using energy efficient (Euro II) engines in the buses and that public transport will save on fossil fuels. He also pointed out that the National Climate Change Policy is finally going to be implemented and that in the June 5th 2015 budget the Government of Pakistan has announced interest free loans for solar tube wells, zero import duty on solar and wind power generation equipment and 5-years tax holiday and zero sales tax on local manufacture of solar, wind power equipment. He also spoke about the importance of equity in the global climate change negotiations; that rich countries must do more to meet the challenge of climate change. Dr Khalid Riaz from the CCRD thanked everyone for coming and pointed out that "climate change is a shared responsibility".

After the inaugural session that was held from 10 to 12pm, the debates began from 12.30 to 5pm with the citizens (mostly young people to reflect Pakistan’s demographics) being divided into small groups.

The World Wide Views on Climate and Energy turned out to be the largest global citizen consultation held on climate change. Beginning at dawn in Fiji and ending at dusk in Arizona, at least 100 citizens in each location, discussed issues of climate change and voted on an identical set of questions.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1184952/earthly-matters-preparing-for-paris

CCRD participates in World Environment Day, June 5th

CCRD, along with the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) and the French Embassy participated on a show held at Radio Pakistan on World Environment Day, June 5th. Dr Khalid Riaz from CCRD and Member of National Assembly, Malik Uzair Khan along with Olivier Huynh Van, Development Attaché, French Embassy, talked about the urgent need to protect the environment, including the oceans. They shared information about how the UN is working with its member states and many other counterparts in the run up to COP 21. They also highlighted the role Pakistani people can play with the support of their government in reducing air pollution, improving the waste of precious natural resources and stopping deforestation. They stressed how important is the contribution from the youth in the whole process.

Planetary Debate on Climate and Energy on June 6th, hosted by CIIT on campus

The World Wide Views on Climate and Energy is a global citizen consultation that will be organised by the United Nations in 100 countries of the world involving a total of 10,000 citizens. It will provide unique information about how far citizens around the world are willing to go, in order to deal with climate change and bring forward an energy transition.

In each country an audience of around 100 pre-selected people reflecting the demographics of each individual country, will be asked a specific set of questions about climate change and energy. In Pakistan, the planetary debate will be hosted by CIIT on its Islamabad campus at the 4th floor auditorium in Academic Block 1 on June 6 from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. The event is being organized with the support of French Government and it is linked to UN Conference on Climate Change to be held in Paris later this year.

The Sustainable Development Policy Institute will be selecting the 150 people for the audience and conducting the debate with help from the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC).

CCRD and Department of Meteorology and Department of Management Sciences at COMSATS University are organizing a walk on June 4 (not May 26th as was earlier posted!) on campus from 10 am to 11 am to raise awareness about a clean environment. The message would be for the public to use trash bags for disposing their waste rather than throwing it away on the roads etc. The start point is Academic Block I and the end point is Faculty cafeteria on CIIT. Please join us on Thursday!

Lecture on Preparations for UN Climate Conference in Paris (2015)

On May 21st, French climate expert Dr Alain Gioda visited the COMSATS University for a meeting with the CCRD team members, followed by a lecture entitled “Preparations for UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (2015)”. The event was organised in collaboration with the Embassy of France in Islamabad.

Ambassador Shahid Kamal, Dr. Khalid Riaz and CCRD Team Members first welcomed Dr Gioda at the Faculty Block on the COMSATS Islamabad campus. Dr Gioda explained that he had studied in several countries: France, Italy and England and worked in many countries from Peru to the Ivory Coast. He described his work as “action research” and pointed out that he worked on the ground. “The challenge at the global level is to have good governance; we must work with politicians and scientists. It is tricky but we must solve it (the climate crisis)”. He pointed out that the fossil fuel era was dying and a new world is coming in which we will have green/blue development. The climate crisis, he said, gives us a chance to change.

Dr Gioda later moved to the Ground Floor Lecture Hall, Business Incubation Centre (BIC), for his lecture. Malik Muhammad Uzair Khan, Member National Assembly, was the chief guest and he pointed out that it was now time to “start looking at climate change as a developmental issue and even a national security issue in Pakistan”. He further explained that it was the poor, vulnerable and marginalized that were most affected by climate change and we need to focus on this area and move forward faster and with more depth. Pakistan, he said, needed to focus on adaptation and protect vulnerable segments of society. Dr Gioda’s lecture focused on his “action research” and he explained that he had plenty of experience of working in the field in Italy, Ivory Coast, Bolivia, Peru etc. He also worked for the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in the UK, a centre of excellence.

He briefly introduced climate change as having been 95% generated by human activities. He said that climate change was a new science and an important subject, especially in a fragile country like Pakistan, which has deserts, seashore, a growing population and high mountains. He described the COP 21 (the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Paris) as an important meeting where countries have to come up with a global governance system to curb carbon emissions. Europe and France will be the project leaders of COP 21. “Things are moving, but slowly… but we must continue; things might seem impossible but all is possible, we just have to work towards the dream”. Olivier Huyhn from the Embassy of France further added that the “Paris conference would focus on solutions”. One of the objectives of the French government is to sensitize people about the upcoming conference in Paris, and the French Embassy in Islamabad is planning a series of events this year.

Walk for a clean environment on 26th May! CCRD and Department of Meteorology at COMSATS University are organizing a walk on 26th May on campus to raise awareness about a clean environment. The message would be for the public to use trash bags for disposing their waste rather than throwing it away on the roads etc.

CCRD in collaboration with the Embassy of France in Pakistan will be hosting a lecture by a French Climate expert, Alain Gioda.
He works at the Institute for Research and Development (IRD), France, and has experience in the history of climate change and in renewable energy.

Alain Gioda will speak on "Tiny and Medium Rural Examples of Ways to Reduce Global Warming" on 21st May, 2015, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM in the Business Incubation Center (BIC) Lecture Hall, CIIT, Islamabad. Refreshments will be served at the event.
We would like to cordially invite students to the lecture. Please RSVP to [email protected]

CCRD organized a one-day training workshop entitled “Drinking Water Quality” on 5th May 2015 in collaboration with the Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) and Institute of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (IWASH), Islamabad.

Given the deteriorating quality of drinking water in Pakistan, this is was a timely workshop that created awareness amongst the academia and students regarding water quality in the country. Experts say that in Pakistan, 30% of all diseases and 40% of all deaths are due to poor water quality. Diarrhoea, a water borne disease is reported as the leading cause of death in infants and children, while every fifth citizen suffers from illness caused by drinking polluted water. Unfortunately, little attention is paid to drinking water quality issues and there is a lack of water quality monitoring in the country.

Since it is very important to independently assess drinking water sources before using them, the participants of the workshop were able to learn basic techniques used for the sampling, preservation and on the spot quality testing of drinking water. The workshop was beneficial for young researchers, scientists, engineers and technicians working in the field of water quality across the country. Attending this training program enhanced their sampling skills and improved their analysis of both the biological and chemical water quality parameters.

The workshop included a visit to the National Water Quality Laboratories, PCRWR Headquarters. The workshop began with opening remarks by Ambassador (retired) Shahid Kamal, Advisor to the CCRD and then presentations were given by Engineer Faizan-ul-Hasan (Deupty Director, PCRWR), Shafqat Ali (Director, IWASH), Dr. Toqeer Ahmed (CCRD) and Dr. A.H.Malik (CCRD). The chief guest was Dr. Ishfaq Ahmed (DG, PCRWR).

Advisor to CCRD Ambassador (Retd) Shahid Kamal, moderated a panel on “Climate Change: Pakistan at COP21” organized by the UN in the context of the “United Nations Speaker’s Corner” at the National Book Fair Festival on Friday, 24th April 2015, at the Pak-China Friendship Centre. The panel discussion was organized in collaboration with CCRD and French Embassy. Ambassador Shahid Kamal noted that 2015 is an important year for climate change given that the summit on sustainable development will also take place this year before the UN Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) is held in Paris in December. He said: “2015 is a historic moment for the international community to come together”. Shakeel Ramay of the SDPI said: “we have to be very positive about the COP21; we have to go there with a good mindset. I also feel that France (as the host country) is putting together a realistic agenda for the conference. They are also making sure that civil society’s voices should be heard at the COP”. The DG Climate Change, Sajjad Ahmad stated that: “Pakistan is currently preparing its ‘Intended Nationally Determined Contributions’ (commitments that Pakistan intends to take post-2020) for the Paris conference and is working in that area for both mitigation and adaptation. Mexico recently announced their INDCs and they had a strong adaptive component and Pakistan too will have that”.
The DG added that the government is also planning to involve the youth soon although he did not want to give any details as yet; this statement was much appreciated by the audience, which comprised mostly of young people studying at local universities and colleges. According to the UN representative, Vittorio Cammarota from the UNIC, “youth are very important and in the past we have involved the youth representatives at the climate change summits. For COP21 we are making sure the youth have a voice by collecting stories and drawings about climate change from schools across Pakistan and we intend to put them together in a publication and distribute it in Paris”.