ISLAMABAD (APP) - World Wide Fund for Nature Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) on Thursday urged the federal government to declare smog a ‘national health emergency’ to curb the current escalating crisis in the country.
The WWF-Pakistan in a letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Chairperson of the Pakistan Climate Change Council Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif outlined immediate and long-term measures to control the smog crisis, which has engulfed several cities across the country.
The organisation called for the immediate closure of polluting industries and emphasised the need to extend the regulations of the ‘Green Lockdown’ to other areas of Lahore and other highly polluted cities.
It also called for halting construction activities during the peak of the smog season, including the closure of brick kilns.
It called upon the quarters concerned to issue necessary orders to immediately remove high-emission vehicles from the roads.
Commenting on the smog issue, Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General, WWF-Pakistan, said that the government must take immediate, bold and decisive actions to address this emergency.
The worsening air quality and persistent smog are serious issues not only for the people and the environment but also for the economy, he said.
Proposing long-term measures, WWF-Pakistan suggested for transition to Euro V or Euro VI fuel quality standards and accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Pakistan, especially two and three-wheelers, to significantly reduce vehicular emissions which are the leading contributor to fine particulate pollution.
It also stressed the expansion of the public transport network in metropolitan centres and urged the government to scale green financing, subsiding alternatives to the burning of crop residue.