Review of GHG emissions in Pakistan compared to SAARC countries

N. Abas, A. Kalair, N. Khan and A.R. Kalair

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, vol. 80, issue C, 990-1016

Abstract: Fossil fuel consumption, luxurious lifestyles, population and economic growths are drivers of climate change. Rampant rise in Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions drives the big wheel of climate change which affects human societies, animal habitats and woodlands by flash floods, glacial melts, acidic rains, droughts, famines, wildfires, epidemics, heat and cold waves. South Asia is one of the most severely affected regions on the planet due to its demographics. The per capita impact of climate change on the millions of Pakistanis is very high compared to their diminutive per capita share of global GHG emissions. Environmental issues of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries include deforestation, air pollution, desertification, glacial melts, sea level rise, water contamination and loss of biodiversity. Pakistan is among the top ten countries worst hit by climate change, where native populations of lions, leopards, dolphins, tortoise and vultures face extinction threat. Acacia and rosewood tree forests in Sindh, Punjab and Pak-Afghan precincts have already dried by dieback disease during 1998–2005. Hundreds of people succumb to death annually by heat waves in South during summer and cold waves in North during winter. Climate change is a global phenomenon; nevertheless, higher GHG emissions first affect local and regional territories and later impact worldwide. Pakistan's CO2 emissions are greater than least developed SAARC countries but much lower than the nearby Himalayan slope countries. This paper reports impact of CO2 emissions on society, forests, crops and wildlife in Pakistan recounting adaptation and mitigation strategies in SAARC countries. We present simulation results for a future super smart grid connecting Central Asian States (CAS) to SAARC countries for bilateral electricity trade, progress in carbon capture and storage technologies in SAARC countries, and original research on utilizing CO2 (R744) for water heating in extremely cold regions.

Keywords: Climate change; Global warming; Adaptation; Mitigation; Energy transition; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.04.022

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