Pakistani farmer sues government to curb climate change
Asghar Leghari, a 25-year-old farmer from the Rahim Yar Khan District of Pakistan鈥檚 South Punjab region, is taking his government to court after water scarcity and temperature changes from climate change repeatedly destroyed his family鈥檚 crops.
Mr. Leghari is currently a law student in Lahore, but his family is part of a community of small-scale farmers who are facing poverty because of unpredictable weather shifts caused by climate change.聽
On August 31, Leghari filed a petition with the Lahore High Court claiming that the government of Pakistan failed to follow the objectives set in the country鈥檚 2012 National Climate Change Policy, violating Leghari's聽fundamental rights by ignoring the impacts of climate change.
鈥淢y petition aimed to compel the concerned departments and ministries to take action and consider climate change and important issue ,鈥� Leghari told Reuters.聽
Leghari argues that the government is , which include 鈥渢o ensure water security, food security and energy security of the country in the face of the challenges posed by climate change,鈥� 鈥渢o foster the development of appropriate economic incentives to encourage public and private sector investment in adaptation measures,鈥� and 鈥渢o promote conservation of natural resources and long term sustainability.鈥澛�
But the farmer-turned-lawyer is not asking for financial compensation. Instead, he wants the government to take serious action on the problem of climate change, now.聽
鈥淒irect relief would be insufficient in scope to compensate me or other farmers against future grievances,鈥� he said. 鈥淐limate change is if adequate measures are not taken.鈥澛�
And while some skeptics initially equated his lawsuit to a quixotic campaign, albeit one supportive of windmills,聽one Pakistani farmer has proved individuals are capable of encouraging governments into action.
After hearing Leghari鈥檚 argument, Judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah agreed that climate change 鈥渋s a defining challenge of our time鈥t is a clarion call for the protection of the fundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan鈥ike the right to life which and right to human dignity.鈥�
The judge then ordered government ministries to explain before the court what progress has been made under the 2012 framework to tackle climate change.聽
The joint secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change admitted 鈥渂y and large the response of various departments鈥�,鈥� as representatives from a number of departments, including agriculture and forestry, were unable to show progress. Government representatives assured the court that 734 action points would be addressed, with 232 completed by 2016.聽聽
鈥淭he judge is pushing the government departments to take action,鈥� Hameed Naqi, director general of WWP-Pakiston, told Reuters. 鈥淭he commission is for us.鈥�
In 1950, Pakistan's government reported water availability in the country at 5,300 cubic meters per person per year, but by 2011 the government reports .
A 2013 study by the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index, ranked Pakistan with , at 139th聽out of 184 countries. And Pakistan鈥檚 water score, the country鈥檚 vulnerability of fresh water supplies to climate change, was among the worst 15 of all 191 countries indexed.
The World Bank released a report earlier this month warns that more than 100 million people could fall into extreme poverty because of global warming, 海角大神 reported. Because climate change will have destructive effects on agriculture, crop production is expected to decrease by 5 percent through 2030, leaving millions of families 鈥� like Leghari鈥檚 鈥� without food or money.聽
