Climate change: Perspective from pakistan By Caitlin Yang
Prior to attending UC Berkeley this fall, Hiba Rasul ‘27 had never visited the United States. In an interview about her views on the environment, she shared her views on the effects of climate change in her country of Pakistan.
A major indicator of global warming is changes to the weather, as Rasul explained how the AQI (Air Quality Index) is drastically different between Pakistan and the U.S. The two countries have extremely different levels of air quality, with Pakistan having a high level of air pollution. “I couldn't even smell the smoke,” she explains when describing the Oregon wildfire smoke that plagued the skies of the Bay Area during the end of August. According to Rasul, one of the most jarring aspects of climate change is “how much responsibility falls on… fossil fuel companies in the world.”
Many companies are able to profit off using fossil fuels, focusing on capital gains rather than the conservation of a very limited amount of natural resources. Rasul adds, “And then the rest of the world suffers because of that.” The effects of climate change are often most severe in countries that have historically contributed the least carbon emissions. As an international student, Rasul explains the global warming effects she has experienced in Pakistan.
Due to low literacy rates and widespread lack of education, many people in Pakistan are not familiar with the science of climate change. “One of the things that was most frustrating to me [is that] most of the population is not educated and literacy rate is really low,” Rasul says. Within Pakistan, there are major inequalities in who is affected by climate change. Most recently, Rasul explains the devastating impacts of widespread floods in Pakistan. “The most impacted people were the ones who were in rural areas, least developed places.” The millions of people who were displaced by the floods and who lost their homes were unable to recover due to a lack of financial resources, perpetuating a cycle of poverty in underdeveloped communities. In terms of addressing climate change, Pakistan faces many obstacles as a developing country.
“We had student activism, but people are not really concerned” with mitigating climate change. This is due to the unfortunate reality that Pakistan, similar to many other countries, faces issues such as hunger and poverty that must be prioritized over climate action.”
Rasul explains that during her educational experiences in Pakistan, “we had student activism, but people are not really concerned” with mitigating climate change. This is due to the unfortunate reality that Pakistan, similar to many other countries, faces issues such as hunger and poverty that must be prioritized over climate action. When asked how best to move forward and confront climate change, Rasul states, “we need to be moving towards clean energies.” Finding alternative energy sources is key to reducing global warming and protecting the environment from further harm.
Countries with vast financial resources such as the U.S. need to mitigate climate change in order to ensure a safe future for all people. Despite political divides, climate action needs to be taken immediately in order to protect developing countries such as Pakistan. “The aim should be zero emissions,” Rasul states