ASCENDING CLIMATE POLLUTION AND ITS REPRESSION ROLE OF DISCORDANT ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS BEYOND PREEMPTION

http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/glsr.2022(VII-I).13      10.31703/glsr.2022(VII-I).13      Published : Mar 2022
Authored by : Samza Fatima , Muhammad Bilal , Sana Ullah Khan

13 Pages : 98-107

    Abstract

    Nature provides living creatures with the material resources to fill up their bio needs. From that point of inception, earth has been catering to the needs of homo-sapiens but, now, it has become worn out and exhausted because of the carelessness of its inhabitants and so requires vigorous attention. Many challenges are weathering upon her and various other health issues are also balancing out the natural phenomenon. To cure and wipe out the threats posed by diseases and challenges, the first and foremost step is to diagnose the issues and cure them by creating 4wthe awareness and making effective legislation. The diagnosis will lead towards remedies. The cure can best be served collectively, by strong legislation and effective mechanism. This research paper analyses environmental issues and examines the Laws dealing with them. The methodology used in this study is doctrinal employing an exploratory approach.

    Key Words

    Mother Nature, Challenges, Climate, Negligence, Global Community, Unbearable Extent, Campaigns, Environmental Issues, Laws

    Introduction

    The wide range of environmental issues has caused human life to face self-designed threats. These issues are not only making human lives problematic but are also damaging our planet to a greater and more horrible extent. From the big category of climate change, which encompasses almost all the issues in itself, to a smaller and domestic category of fire burning, all are pathetic and worrisome. These issues are under debate because of the intensity of the challenge and the gravity of the negative impact that they are possessing. They have generated headlines and have also galvanized social media users.

    The UNEP (2020) is concentrating on easing the transition to a low-carbon society, enhancing knowledge of climate science, promoting the growth of renewable energy sources, and increasing public awareness. Diseases that have emerged in recent decades are a direct or indirect outcome of climate change and environmental deterioration. Humans consider the prospective pleasure or sorrow that could be associated with any current scenario. 

    Human brains are built to detect things that can cause immediate damage in their environment but not to pay close attention to other threats that may arise in the future that are less apparent or difficult to perceive. This is why terrorism (immediate pain), despite the fact that it unquestionably and unquestionably merits attention, grabs everyone's attention more quickly than global warming or environmental issues (distant pain, despite the fact that it exists now as a challenging threat), which in fact represents the greater danger because it threatens the very survival of the planet. However, in the here and now, such a threat appears distant.

    It could already be too late by the time it ceases to be abstract. Even when it is aware of the detrimental long-term effects, it also has a tendency to grasp and cling to things that provide quick, fleeting pleasures. This is why people continue to smoke, drink, use drugs, or engage in any other behaviour that causes them to harm themselves gradually. But the problem with such endeavours is always a covert catastrophe that slowly but surely seizes control.


    Climate Change: A Prenatal Threat to Posterity

    The ecosystem around us has undergone a significant transformation as a result of the elevated quantities of atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide brought on by human activities, such as pollution and population expansion. The sea, weather, food, and people's health have all been impacted by climate change. Flooding is being brought on by the horrific rise in sea levels brought on by the melting of ice sheets. The planet is experiencing storms, snowfalls, heat strokes, forest fires, and protracted droughts. These "man-caused" disasters have made it impossible for wheat to grow, which has finally resulted in a food shortfall. Exposure to pollution has exacerbated heart disease, lung cancer, and other serious and uncontrolled environmental problems.

    There is a tone of scientific and statistical data that supports the idea that climate change is not only a problem of the present but rather a recognised fact. After the last ice age, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activities have increased 250 times faster than those from natural causes. 2016 is noted as the year with the highest recorded global temperature. Each year, Antarctica and Greenland lose 279 and 148 billion tons of ice, respectively. Snowcaps are disappearing in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Alaska, Rockies, and Africa. In the last century, an estimated increase of 8 inches was noted in the global sea level. An increasing number of heat strokes has been observed around the globe in general and in the USA, especially since 1950.

    The Ozone Layer is quickly destroyed by the production of water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons. If global warming is not stopped right now, the number of extinct species will keep increasing. The Intergovernmental Project on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that a 1.5-degree centigrade average rise might put 20–30% of species at risk of extinction, which would severely harm nature. Unfortunately, the majority of species on earth are endangered because they depend on habitats in places where climate change is projected to have a significant negative impact. In a situation when climate change is occurring at an exceptional and unanticipated rate, it is highly challenging for species to adapt.

    The Polar Regions are the most vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. The evidence and statistics show that there will be almost no summer sea ice cover in the arctic in the next few decades. This climatic change is probably going to have an impact on the Antarctic ice sheet. The West Antarctic Peninsula has been identified as the region of the planet that is warming the fastest, which is likely to have a significant impact on sea level globally and present risks. The frozen sheets of ice and snow are essential for maintaining the equilibrium of the earth and for reflecting sunlight back into space. However, as a result of climate change, the ice and snow sheets are melting, which could upset the earth's equilibrium.

    Because they absorb carbon dioxide and prevent it from reaching the higher atmosphere, the seas are referred to be "carbon sinks." The ocean's water gets more acidic as its temperature rises and its carbon dioxide content rises, posing a possible hazard to aquatic life in general and fish in particular. The woodlands and the wildlife that live there are seriously threatened by climate change. There are more dead plants and trees as a result of the heat and forest fires. When the dead trees and plants become rotten, they emit a heavy amount of carbon dioxide which adds to the greenhouse gases and sets us on a course for runaway towards global warming. 

    Climate change is also hazardous for the reservoirs of fresh water. The rivers, lakes and waterfalls are also a source of water supply for the drinking of human beings and other animals. Drainage, damming, pollution, and extraction are acting as a detriment to the fresh water. Agriculture will have to face more serious consequences due to an increase in the emission of gases like carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons and Nitrous oxide. Global warming may increase weeds and precipitation changes which bar the growth of crops.

    Climate change destroying the environment of a particular region may force people to migrate. The problems of Migration are innumerable as being faced by the international community. Similarly, the disruption in the patterns of rain causes either droughts or flooding which makes the land barren and unfertile and creates competition for land occupancy which gives birth to rivalry among the people. This linkage of the drastic climate changes with migratory and land-productivity issues is much depressing and catastrophic for the state economies and their sustainability.   

    So it is equally necessary to draw the attention of stakeholders and policymakers to these risks that the climate may pose in the near future. Increased injuries, infectious diseases and deaths due to flooding, high winds, tsunamis and storms are undeniable. The disruption of health service centres and facility centres is also a serious challenge. The state of anxiety, depression, stress, mismanagement and chaos in the 

    events of flooding and storms are inevitable and the process of evacuation and Migration is really unpleasant. This all will affect the upcoming generations drastically if left unchecked today. 

    Life versus Death Pollution

    Pollution, also known as environmental pollution, is the addition of any kind of matter (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as heat, sound, or radioactivity) to the environment at a rate that is greater than its capacity to be diffused, diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in a form that is safe. Human activity always generates some sort of garbage that is discarded and then given to the environment. There may be some natural sources of pollution, such as forest fires or volcanic eruptions, but the majority of the reasons are anthropogenic, meaning that they were created or brought about by humans.

    Before the advent of the era of the industrial revolution in Europe, pollution was attracting no special attention from the masses. But the idea of universality to pollution was attached post the period of discoveries and inventions which made the industries flourish. The more the advancement in the modes of production, the more the waste or residue, poisonous and fatal, was added to the environment. 

    Environment, not being an entity with its own brain or self-designed machines, could not frame a proper mechanism to dispose of those wastes without harming the natural balance. It went unnoticed and now, the current situation in some countries is disastrous and heartrending when it comes to pollution. The unstoppable introduction and infusion of contaminants into the environment has caused so many adverse and reactionary effects, that it is not life versus death but Life versus Pollution, now. The responsibility belongs to human beings to assist the environment in the dispersion, dilution, and decomposition of such waste materials. There are various kinds of pollution that are strangulating mankind. Some of them are discussed below.

    Air is the primary, vital, and significant survival element for any living creature. It makes us breathe life. The fact that the air, which is the source of life, has been tainted and polluted, is the most troubling and dismal aspect. The earth's temperature increases as a result of the smoke from the combustion of fossil fuels and other radioactive emissions interacting with sunlight. The greenhouse effect, which serves as the foundation for global warming, is brought on by greenhouse gases like CFCs. Excessive emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulphur oxides are proving to be harmful first to human health and then to the environment. In the present modern era, with the sheer rise in private transport and unruffled rise in the number of industries, smog and soot are those challenges that have become hard nuts to crack. Especially, when clicking in winter, smoke and fog are coupled in the form of smog-causing suffocation and other respiratory issues in human beings. Only 12% of the cities have air quality measures that meet WHO standards.

    After air, water is the main source of life and survival on earth. It is more precisely or meticulously termed as the 'Ambassador of Life'. Scientists and astronomers have been trying for the last few decades to find the signs of life on other planets. Most of the planets have been studied but there is no one suitable like the earth. The major gap lies because of the availability of air and water. They have granted life's monopoly to the earth. However, this privilege of our beloved planet is now in jeopardy. Pollutants are overflowing into the lakes, rivers, and seas. The quality of the subsurface water has deteriorated and grown poisonous, rendering it unusable. Additionally, there are two sources of water pollution: chemical and organic. One is brought on by nature, while the other is human-caused. Some causes of water contamination include marine dumping, radioactive waste, industrial waste, urbanisation and deforestation, sewage, and wastewater. Marine habitats are being suffocated by our waste, noise, oil, and carbon emissions. Water scarcity is also an issue. This will be dealt with under a separate heading. 

    Moreover, the unnecessary, unwanted, or excessive sound which has deleterious and negative effects on human health, the environment, and wildlife is called noise. The common sources of noise pollution are workplaces, highways, industries, traffic, and loudspeakers. The loudness of a sound depends upon two factors; the frequency and amplitude of the wave-carrying sound. Human ears have a specific range of hearing sounds. That range is measured in the form of decibels (DB). The excessive human ear range can cause hearing loss, a rise in blood pressure, and stress. 

    Furthermore, land pollution is additionally encompassing and vast. All the solid or semi-solid waste that causes diseases in human beings and disturbs the chemical balance of the soil is called to cause land pollution. The addition or the presence of an abnormal concentration of toxic and irritating chemical substances in or on the surface of the earth makes the land polluted and so dangerous for animals, plants, and humans too. The land is the residence of almost all living beings except marine life. So, when the land gets ill, the whole cycle of life gets disturbed. The major causes of this environmental issue are agriculture, deforestation, urbanization, mining, industrial waste, and waste disposal. 

    Last but not least, radioactive pollution refers to the change in natural radiation levels brought on by human activity, which can be either an increase or a decrease. The energy that moves and spreads as it does so is known as radiation. Nuclear power stations and mining operations are not the sole sources of radiation; numerous little devices that have crept into our daily lives are also responsible for radiation emissions. Radiation may also be emitted by our mobile phones, refrigerators, wireless gadgets, laptops, microwave ovens, air conditioners, radio transmitters, and many more everyday items including those used in hospitals, X-ray equipment, and CAT scanners.

    Together, these things make the planet cry and deteriorate human health. Some of the radioactive substances employed include strontium 90 and caesium 137, which are both used in thermoelectric generators and portable power supplies for weather stations, spacecraft, and other devices. Plutonium 238 is utilised as a heat source for radioisotope thermoelectric generators, along with Iodine 123 for the diagnosis of thyroid conditions, Krypton 85 for indication lights, and Uranium 235 for nuclear reactor fuel. 


    Water Crisis: An Elusive Challenge

    Figure 1

    As discussed, there is nothing more useful and important than water for human life to depend upon. Water is covering almost 70% of the earth's total area. This huge and bulky presence of water has catered to human needs from the primitive to the present post-modern era. With the abrupt rise in the human population, the high indulgence and exploitation of human beings with nature arose and have made the condition to such worse that now, even, that huge and bulky presence of water has become scarce and short. 

    This issue has attracted the great attention of state leaders because the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has declared that by 2025, most of the population of the world inhabiting arid regions will be facing a depressing shortage of water. It has been noticed only in India that an estimated 62000 Million litres per day of sewage are formulated while the capacity to treat and clarify is 23,277 million litres per day.

    The reasons for the water crisis are two-fold. One of them is more careless use of water while the other is the contamination of underground water which makes it undrinkable or unfit for domestic use. Knowingly the use of contaminated water can also lead to child health issues big companies like nestling are also avoiding such things. These two factors, coupled, are multiplying and act as supplements for each other. The total sigma conclusion, in the end, is the grave water crisis that we face today and a fearful threat for the future.

    Overpopulation is one of the main factors contributing to the water shortage. From 1800 to now, the world's population has increased from 1 billion to 7.7 billion. This population increase is not a good sign for future generations because, if allowed to continue, the 

    water crisis threat, which we now confront because 1/3 of the world's population still lacks access to fresh blue water will grow to the size of a gigantic genie that cannot be contained. When formulating a plan to address the effects of population growth on the water crisis, it is important to consider both the water shortage, which refers to low water availability per person and the water stress, which refers to the impact of high water usage relative to water availability.

    Moreover, the expansion of irrigation areas is another cause. This is also linked to the first cause. The more the population will rise; it will need more production of food and sustainable products for survival. This cause will increase the dependency on irrigation land. For irrigation, water is not free or renewable like sunlight. Once used in the crops becomes less in the nutrients' composition. The use of fertilizers has also seen an increase in the past few decades. The use of fertilizers gives an immediate good production for the time being but leaves an in-erasable and damaging effect on the health of the land and underground water, in the long run. This stimulates both the reasons that are discussed above. It contributes to the water shortage and also makes the water contaminated. 

    In addition to these, the greenhouse gases trapped inside the earth's atmosphere because of air pollution, the earth's temperature is going upwards and causing the glaciers to melt in an unnecessary way. This generates a binary loss for mankind. The glaciers are the stored form of potable water that can be used periodically and necessary if the high temperature doesn't disturb its natural and balanced melting process. The huge melted amounts of water from glaciers at once cause flooding and a rise in the water level in rivers and oceans, making the potable water salted, which will soon eat up the small islands. The issue of the water crisis, so, also has an umbilical connection with global warming.   

    The situation in Pakistan is worse and the reports are very much depressing and threatening. There are people who have to travel miles to fetch a single pot of drinkable water. The situation in Sindh is especially heartrending. People face enormous health and growth issues in the premises of Sindh and its outskirts where mostly the desert of THAR lies. The century-old irrigation system and the growing urbanization and industrialization are also playing their part in the water crisis in Pakistan. Food security, human health and 

    protection of natural resources and ecosystems is the major target to keep in mind while coping with this elusive challenge of the water crisis. 


    Deforestation: An innate Selfishness

    Human beings fill up marshland to build locality, rip and set fire to acres of forest and all of these have enormous environmental effects, yet we pursue to apply them daily, why? Because we cannot see the losses as we obtain profits only. Thus we humans, as a specie, must be aware that our selfishness is ruining the planet.

    31% of the world's land surface is covered by forests, although they are not evenly distributed. Five countries account for more than half of the world's woods. An estimated 420 million hectares of forest have been lost since 1990 as a result of conversion to other land uses. Using steep slopes and barren ground to build highways has become a major problem around the world, affecting the commercial and agricultural sectors. The rate of deforestation was estimated to be 10 million hectares per year between 2015 and 2020, down from 16 million hectares per year in the 1990s. Since 1990, the area of primary forests has decreased by more than 80 million hectares worldwide. According to the World Bank, an area greater than South Africa lost 502,000 square miles (1.3 million square kilometres) of forests between 1990 and 2016.

    There are 4.57 million hectares of forests in Pakistan, which has an area of 87.98 million hectares, or 5.2 per cent of the entire land Zone. Only 5.7 per cent of the country's geographical area, or around 4.54 million hectares, is covered in forests, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF, 2020). Afghanistan has the greatest deforestation rate in Asia. More than 100 million hectares of forests are negatively impacted by logging, mining, and forest fires.

    In a statement, WWF stated that efforts to lessen the harmful consequences of climate change and develop effective policies to handle such conditions are connected to the floods and other forest degradation in Baluchistan and Sindh, as well as the heavy rains in Karachi and other cities. Over 1 million hectares of land make up over 80% of the world's forest acreage. Startling rates of forest degradation contribute significantly to the ongoing loss of biodiversity. Climate change, desertification, soil erosion, decreased crop production, floods, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss can all be caused by the loss of trees and other plant life. This all puts a cloth of ignorance on the minds of people who are not trying to hold on to their selfishness to grasp the immediate benefits and harm the whole world at a larger pace, in the long run. 


    Vanishing Biodiversity: A Risk of Extinction

    Vanishing biodiversity is another dilemma. To fully understand the threat of vanishing biodiversity that the world is currently suffering from, first, one must fathom the core value and the true importance of biodiversity in our lives. Biodiversity is reckoned as the most complex subject of science due to its wide range of subject matter. It is something that begins at the genetic level and extends to a variety of different ecosystems. The number of environmental issues follows directly into many things such as degradation and loss of habitat; chemical release and; soil erosion.

    The start may be easy to find but finding an end to this scientific phenomenon is nothing less than finding a needle in a haystack. It is widely known as the sum of all different varieties of living things that live on this planet earth, ranging from different microorganisms, such as unicellular and multicellular, to plants and animals, inclusive of the ecosystems they live in.

    Biodiversity, on a smaller scale, can be used to explain variation in species and, on a larger scale, can be used to explain the working of different ecosystems and their interlinkage of natural interactions. There are, generally accepted, three categories of biodiversity: namely, Genetic Biodiversity, Species Biodiversity and Ecological Biodiversity. This field of biological science is truly important in our lives due to its starring role in maintaining the proper functioning of ecosystems. Some integral roles that it performs are regulating natural conditions; such as climate, weather, and water distribution, providing natural resources; such as water, raw material, and food and cultural diffusion; such as scenic beauty, and spiritual beliefs.

    Living on the earth's surface is a blessing that many do not seem to regard anymore. People should realize that there is only one earth and they should contribute to the conservation of biodiversity rather than adding a threat to it. Human activities have the utmost contribution to the destruction of biodiversity around the globe in general. Global warming is a current threat in the world, and its effects have been protracted and outreached widely due to which life not only on the face of the earth is put into danger but its damages have been extended up to stratospheric ozone depletion. From 1800 to 2019, the world's population expanded from 1 billion to 7.7 billion. After crossing the 7 billion threshold in 2011, the world's population has increased to 7.8 billion people. Researchers on population forecast that by 2023, there will be 8 billion people on the planet, and that number will rise to 9 billion by 2037. The most blatant and direct cause of the planet's declining biodiversity is the world's rising population and its accompanying activities.

    Perhaps rural communities' exploitation of biomass resources like fuel wood, lumber, and fodder was limited by the carrying capacity of forests. However, many regions of the world with abundant resources have now exceeded this limit. The growth in the human population has accelerated the extraction of biomass, resulting in a loss of biodiversity and, eventually, an ecological imbalance.

    More than 32,000 species are at risk of going extinct, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which represents 27% of all examined species. According to the first worldwide study, human hunting for the bush meat trade has put 301 species of animals in grave danger of going extinct. Global population growth and atmospheric and hydrologic pollution have detrimental long-term effects on biodiversity. Acid rain may form when fossil fuels like oil, coal, and gas are burned and the resulting pollution remains in the atmosphere as particulate pollutants. Acidification of forest soils around water bodies caused by acid rain, which is primarily composed of sulfuric and nitric acid, slows down the growth of forests, damages trees at higher altitudes, and contaminates marine life. Most afflicted nations overlook the fact that changes in land and water resources are the primary cause of biodiversity loss for food and agricultural loss. This is followed by pollution, overuse and overharvesting, climate change, and population increase.

    Due to ocean warming and overfishing, the number of Atlantic puffins is rapidly declining. Because of habitat destruction brought on by forest fires, there are now just 3200 tigers left in the world. Snow leopard populations in the Himalayas will decline due to climate change since it will have an impact on both their habitats and their prey. The yearly monsoon rains in Nepal and India provide vegetation, which Asian Rhinos graze on. However, as a result of climate change, these rains may not fall at the same time each year, resulting in droughts and a lack of food for Asian Rhinos. Deforestation is also making it harder to find orangutans. Due to their daily water consumption of up to 225 litres, African elephants may have to leave their protected regions due to shifting weather patterns. Polar bears find it more difficult to live as a result of the Arctic warming up nearly twice as quickly as the world average.

    To control this progressing loss of biodiversity and species getting extinct at an alarming rate, many NGOs have stepped up since decades to put in their efforts to stop this draconian phase of constant deterioration. International status NGOs such as IIED, WWF (2020), IUCN (2020), WCS, UNEP (2020), IPPC etc. come under the top 25 biodiversity protection and conservation organizations which have played a miraculous role in halting the escalating rate of biodiversity deterioration. 

    To stop this destruction of heterogeneous life hood, under the umbrella of biodiversity, not only collective effort by humanity but also personal effort by stakeholders must be executed towards the aim of preserving and conserving biodiversity. Meaning thereby, the goal is not only to stop the destruction of biodiversity but to also recover the damages done previously. Firm control and proper check and balance on human activities must be put to minimize the avoidable causes that would lead to the vanishing of biodiversity.  The scale of the effort is regardless of any perimeters: an effort as small as recycling plastic or an effort on a larger scale to prevent the extinction of endangered species by developing care facilities, both are of equal importance. The reason is, the protection of biodiversity from deterioration is a great deal which has to be dealt with proper planning, awareness and assistance from the masses, because, after all, it is the life we are protecting around us which is the basis of life on the whole planet, hence called biodiversity.

    Figure 2

    Soil Degradation

    Soil is a sheet of life for living things. All the fodder that revolves around the cyclic chain of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores, is provided by the soil. To attain immediate and out-proportioned productivity for the greater and larger sum of the population across the globe, some unhealthy and negatively charged chemicals are used that cause soil issues and degradation. This fragile skin of the earth is under great threat. All life is anchored by this skin. Terrestrial beings are protected from the underground hotness and lava that's camouflaged by this veil of life. In early societies, the natural vegetation was enough for human beings. But now we have jumped towards more agricultural means of production creating more pastures and grasslands by erasing the forests. This transition often cannot hold onto the soil and many plants such as coffee, soybean, cotton, palm oil etc. cause the rise in soil erosion reducing the capacity of the soil to hold itself. 

    In Pakistan, soil degradation is primarily caused by a number of reasons, including deforestation and desertification of the land, salinity and sodality phenomena, the severe impacts of soil erosion, waterlogging, loss of soil fertility, and imbalanced nutrient balances. Over 60% of the nation's natural grazing areas produce at levels that are less than one-third of their genetic potential. The threat of desertification has been deemed to affect around one-third of the country.

    It is estimated that the greatest documented rate of erosion was between 150 and 165 tons per acre per year. In 1990, the Indus River transported 4.49 t/h of sediment, which was the fifth-highest rate worldwide. The consequences of wind erosion are less severe than those of water erosion. However, both of these erosions become extremely difficult when they really tighten their destructive grasp. This reduces the land's output by 1.5% to 7.5% annually. It's possible that the problem of wet places isn't as bad as it formerly was. Due to the ongoing drought and unnecessary reliance on groundwater, water logging is somehow less of a problem now. The fertility and richness of the soil are rapidly declining.

    The element of nitrogen in the soils, as shown by the statistics and data of the various lands, is already not adequate. This lessens the nutrient ability and the capacity of the land to hold the ground for better crops and refined cultivation. The organic matter content is also lacking. In the case of phosphorus, the discriminate use of other chemical fertilizers for immediate and multiplied growth, the level of phosphorus has also come down below the required level.   

    In terms of micronutrient levels, the shortages in zinc, boron, and iron are striking and concerning. Even if the shortage is getting better in Punjab, showing a negative nitrogen balance in practically all of the provinces is not a positive indicator overall. Negative phosphorus offsets did not change much in Punjab during a ten-year period but worsened in the other three provinces. Punjab saw the highest degree of deficit in 1985–1986. Nevertheless, they all remained very similar in 1995–1996. Potash balances got worse during the course of the decade. All of the aforementioned environmental problems pose risks to the further expansion of agriculture. According to a typical estimate, the impact of land degradation and biodiversity loss on output and public health totals 3% of GDP annually. If factors like biodiversity loss, the depletion of the river and coastal resources, and unsafe methods of disposing of solid waste were taken into account, the benefits may be much larger. Dealing with the issue of lost arable land—whose indifference the nation cannot afford—must be given top priority.

    In a nutshell, overpopulation is what stands at the base of all environmental issues. This hypothesis finds its validity in the fact that statistics of degrading climate charts have gone up and onwards with the always ascending number of people on earth. This hike has made the competition for resources aggravated and also has contributed a fair part in burdening the overall task of protection and survival of the common good. The more people will use natural 

    resources causing a huge energy crisis at a bigger level. With the extensive use of such resources, more waste material, solid, liquid, semi-liquid, gases etc. will be adding up to the environment. Just throwing the garbage out of the house or even out of the town doesn't make human lives safer or cleaner. This eventually sums up a big dangerous reality of collective demise in the form of various gigantic environmental issues. Some of the issues that have arisen because of overpopulation as discussed above in detail are food shortage, noise pollution, more use of private transport, less drinkable water available, more use of non-renewable resources, the conflict of welfare and number, more urbanization leading towards more carbon emission and, malnourishment.

    "There are now too many people on the planet using too many resources and producing too much risky waste. Human population growth at current levels exacerbates all other threats. Its seriousness, and preventability, are not being addressed in any country or internationally."

    If we have a look at the gradual growth of the world's population, it will be seen that the trend of rise has immediately risen upwards in the last few decades. This rise is because of the rise in the population itself. It is a self-multiplying process which has no end in the vision. Through it, it is feared that by this uncontrolled and unstopped multiplication, the collective good will be subtracted and compromised.

    Figure 3

    Domestic and International Legislation for the Protection of Climate from Deterioration

    For the purpose of protecting of environment and the precious existence of human beings on earth, various laws have been enacted and codified. Approximately, all the states have shown their utmost wish to make the defence of the earth a legitimate and indispensable duty of every person. International Environmental Law directly deals with issues of climate change, ozone depletion, the addition of hazardous and toxic chemicals to the environment, and the threat that biodiversity faces today. Its aim is to control and put a bar on environmentally degrading activities along-with the sustainable development. 

    The United Nations Environment Assembly is the highest-level UN body ever created to address environmental issues. The Nairobi headquarters officially launched on June 23, 2014, the night before the United Nations environment program. As all members of the UN are also members of this assembly on the environment, this feeds directly to the General Assembly, giving the nations a prestigious and ground-breaking forum to discuss their views and policies for the benefit of everyone.

    In addition, the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Declaration of 1972) (UN Doc A/CONF/48/14/REV.1 (1972)) was the first document to attempt to trace the effects of humans on the environment and to develop draughts to improve nature's capacity to heal itself. This has been seen as the first real effort to deal with the problems and challenges caused by climate change. Instead of only keeping to the normative technical form of debate, it promotes broad environmental policy goals, objectives, and aspirations.

    Also presented at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (UN Doc A/CONF.151/26 (vol.I)) is a compilation of 27 principles that were worthy and mature enough to guide future sustainable development throughout the world.

    The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP, 2020) produced an international action plan on the ozone layer in 1977. This was predicated on the idea that toxic pollutants and chemicals, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), destroy the ozone layer as they go to the stratosphere. The Montreal Protocol on Drugs that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which addressed the issue of restricted substances and their trade among governments, was approved in 1987 after this treaty was signed in 1985. The states were given a forum to talk about and take steps to lessen the negative impacts on the ozone layer in the future.

    The management of hazardous wastes was on the top agenda since it was included in the three priority areas of the United Nations environment program's 1st Montevideo program on environmental law in 1981. The specific convention was developed in 1989, at a time when the transboundary industrial waste issue and the NIMBY (not in my neighbourhood) attitude were making headlines. In order to halt this hazardous trade in the aforementioned situation, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, 1989, was adopted. It was finally implemented in 1992.

    On the subject of climate change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992 (UNFCCC), was also approved. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was made available for signing by the parties at UNCED following discussions and debates involving more than 140 governments that lasted less than seventeen months. In 1992, this convention became operative. As of that point, 165 people have signed it. If every ratification instrument is gathered, then almost everyone is a member of this convention.

    In order to bring Pakistan into line with and into compliance with international environmental health standards and the goal of sustainable development, the Pakistan Climate Change Act of 2017 was promulgated. This legislation also covers the adoption of the standards for the preservation and protection of renewable and non-renewable resources. The government has also started a programme called Clean and Green Pakistan to stop the environment's constant depletion.

    The Global Change Impact Studies Centre Act, of 2013, created the Global Change Impact Studies Centre in Pakistan with the goal of evaluating the effects of general climate change in Pakistan. The Center's duties include creating and submitting project plans to the board of governors, carrying out and implementing approved plans, collaborating with both national and international organisations to further study climate change, conducting an awareness campaign through seminars, workshops, training sessions, and the publication of research materials, advising the government, and suggesting sector-specific guidelines for adaptations.

    Conclusion

    This paper highlighted the factors contributing towards climate pollution drastically and explored the ways to control that pollution which is inevitable for all 

    living species on earth. All the international social, economic and cultural forums are being used as springboards to preach and further the cause of protection of the environment and Earth. Many non-profit organizations NGOs in various states and the wings of the United Nations such as the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP, 2020) are paying conscious attention and doing plausible efforts to stop this prenatal death of our future generations. This paper further explored the domestic and international environmental laws and conventions that came into force for climate protection. However, the problem is in the appropriate implementation of those laws. Steps are required at both the individual level and government level in order to secure the environment for the next generations; otherwise, its deterioration will cause serious effects on the lives of all living species.

References

Cite this article

    APA : Fatima, S., Bilal, M., & Khan, S. U. (2022). Ascending Climate Pollution and its Repression: Role of Discordant Environmental Laws beyond Preemption. Global Legal Studies Review, VII(I), 98-107. https://doi.org/10.31703/glsr.2022(VII-I).13
    CHICAGO : Fatima, Samza, Muhammad Bilal, and Sana Ullah Khan. 2022. "Ascending Climate Pollution and its Repression: Role of Discordant Environmental Laws beyond Preemption." Global Legal Studies Review, VII (I): 98-107 doi: 10.31703/glsr.2022(VII-I).13
    HARVARD : FATIMA, S., BILAL, M. & KHAN, S. U. 2022. Ascending Climate Pollution and its Repression: Role of Discordant Environmental Laws beyond Preemption. Global Legal Studies Review, VII, 98-107.
    MHRA : Fatima, Samza, Muhammad Bilal, and Sana Ullah Khan. 2022. "Ascending Climate Pollution and its Repression: Role of Discordant Environmental Laws beyond Preemption." Global Legal Studies Review, VII: 98-107
    MLA : Fatima, Samza, Muhammad Bilal, and Sana Ullah Khan. "Ascending Climate Pollution and its Repression: Role of Discordant Environmental Laws beyond Preemption." Global Legal Studies Review, VII.I (2022): 98-107 Print.
    OXFORD : Fatima, Samza, Bilal, Muhammad, and Khan, Sana Ullah (2022), "Ascending Climate Pollution and its Repression: Role of Discordant Environmental Laws beyond Preemption", Global Legal Studies Review, VII (I), 98-107
    TURABIAN : Fatima, Samza, Muhammad Bilal, and Sana Ullah Khan. "Ascending Climate Pollution and its Repression: Role of Discordant Environmental Laws beyond Preemption." Global Legal Studies Review VII, no. I (2022): 98-107. https://doi.org/10.31703/glsr.2022(VII-I).13