The Ministry for Climate Change on Tuesday warned that in the next five years there will be serious complications regarding water scarcity, food shortage and energy crisis, if precautionary measures are not taken to tackle climate change in Pakistan.

“It will not only have an impact on human health but will also affect the country politically and economically,” Federal Secretary for Climate Change, Arif Ahmed Khan told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Climate Change.

Khan said that the costs of environmental degradation is six per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — Rs 365 billion per annum. However, the government is spending seven per cent of its GDP on climate related expenditures.

“Pakistan has suffered significant losses because of floods owing to climate change during 2010,” Khan added.

During the discussion, committee members strongly recommended monitoring the forest system along with checks and balances to strictly enforce laws in coordination with provincial governments.

The Senate committee assured their full support in addressing the rapid climate change and environmental degradation.

Pakistan has been ranked eighth in climate change-hit countries and its temperatures will have risen to 2.8 degree Celsius in day timings by 2070, which will heighten the food insecurity threat. This was echoed last year at a seminar titled “Climate Changes Adaption Strategies to Ensure the Food Security” organised by the University of Agriculture Faisalabad in collaboration with the Agriculture Model Inter-comparison and Improvement Project.