Islamabad: Climate experts have hailed climate change legislation approved by Pakistan’s Senate, calling it a powerful step in mitigating the impact of extreme weather, which has caused floods and droughts.

By adopting climate change legislation, activists said, Pakistan has become one of world’s few countries to adopt comprehensive law on climate change — one of the biggest threats faced by humanity in the 21st century.

Pakistan’s Senate passed the Climate Change Act on March 17, 2017.

The National Assembly has already approved the act.

After the Senate approval, the Act is only presidential nod away before it can become law.

Climate Change Minister Zahid Hamid introduced the legislation in Senate, saying it was meant to “tackle the pressing climate risks and secure global funding to implement projects to boost the country’s climate resilience, protect lives and livelihoods of the people, mainly those associated with agriculture”.

Senator Samina Abid presented the report of Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change in the Senate.

Senators Sherry Rahman and Azam Swati termed the act the need of the hour.

Experts consider climate change a bigger threat to Pakistan than terrorism as the country has experienced extreme climate disasters, affecting food, water and energy security.

“Pakistan is already suffering the impact of climate change in the form of floods, droughts, desertification, glacial melting in the north and sea water intrusion in the south, resulting in the loss of lives and colossal damage to the economy,” Minister Hamid said.

Pakistan ranks 153rd in greenhouse gas emitting countries yet it is the seventh-most vulnerable to climate change Hamid said, adding that the country is likely to produce four times more greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, and would need $40 billion (Dh146 billion) to diminish the effects.

Climate-related laws can bring benefits including increased ability to cope with disasters, better public health and development in all sectors.

Pakistan Climate Change Bill would strengthen country’s capability to diminish the impact of climate change on various socioeconomic sectors, particularly agriculture, water and health.

Pakistan Climate Change Council

Pakistan Climate Change Council (PCCC) will be formed under the Act with the prime minister as its head and chief ministers and environment and climate change ministers as its members.

The Council would have 30 other members with 20 of them from non-governmental organizations, including industry and business representatives, scientists, researchers, technical experts, educationists, representatives of non-governmental organizations working in the climate change field.

Under the Act, the Pakistan Climate Change Authority would also be established to implement the government’s policies on climate change with mutual consultations from the provinces.

The independent Climate Change Authority, under the guidance of PCCC, will provide a framework to mitigate and adapt to the effects of global warming on various sectors of the country, Hamid said.

Pakistan is the seventh most vulnerable country to climate change, and contributes less than 1pc to climate altering global emissions. With the passage of the act, it has joined a handful of countries to enact legislation specifically to combat the impact of climate change, Hamid said.

The act now requires presidential assent before it can become law.