Climate change could cause massive job losses

For Pakistan’s textile business owners and politicians, a recent Schroders and Cornell University study on the possible effects of high heat and flooding on the garment industry should serve as a wake-up call. According to the study’s authors, as workers struggle in the heat and factories close, extreme heat and floods brought on by rapid climate change could cause massive job losses and wipe out $65 billion in apparel export earnings from four Asian countries by 2030—Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Vietnam. If corrective measures are not done, the losses will continue to rise. These nations employ 10.6 million people in clothing and footwear manufacturers and produce 18% of the world’s exported clothes. According to the paper, “Understanding climate-related physical risks to companies in a warming world is critical, but the process is in its infancy with few businesses disclosing enough information and few investors undertaking proper assessments”. “The industry’s response to climate change is all about mitigation, about emissions and recycling, and little to nothing with respect to flooding and heat,” according to experts. These observations are especially true for Pakistan, where exporters of textiles and clothing have yet to recognise the serious effects of climate change on their industry and develop viable solutions. Instead of preparing themselves to face the challenges of climate change, progressive businesses have, at best, adopted basic mitigating strategies at the factory level to reduce the use of fossil fuels, switch to renewable energy sources, and install wastewater treatment plants to reduce costs and allay consumer concerns about the environment in Western markets. Despite the fact that it is essential to enterprises’ survival, no effort has been made in this direction at the level of the entire industry. Unfortunately, our legislators continue to be unaware of the necessity of developing policies to counter the effects of global warming on the economy and jobs. Due to frequent climate-related flooding and heatwaves that have resulted in billion-dollar export losses as well as increased poverty and unemployment, the nation’s economy and exports have recently experienced significant shocks. Pakistan is one of the top 10 countries affected by climate change, therefore governments, business leaders, and other interested parties—including employees in factories—must collaborate to develop climate-resilient solutions in order to avoid the probable employment and export losses that the report predicts.