MEASURING PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS REGARDING CLIMATE CRISIS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

This study aims to measure public perceptions of climate crisis in Pakistan. It attempts to answer, how Pakistani public perceive climate crisis with regards to its knowledge about causes, impacts and associated challenges. This study argues that there is a general lack of knowledge and awareness with regards to climate change among general public of Pakistan that has largely influenced their perceptions about climate crisis and hence resulted in ineffective climate change policy responses. For measuring the perceptions of people of Pakistan about climate change, mixed-method approach has been employed. The data for this study is collected using both primary and secondary sources. For the primary data collection, a structured questionnaire based on Likert Scale was used to collect data from 500 study participants from four distinct regions of Pakistan. The results were then analyzed using different graphs and tables. The secondary sources included reviews of official government publications, reports, previous researches, and the documents from various state departments and authorities working on climate crisis. Based on case study method, the study provides following insights. Climate change is a major issue of concern in Pakistan due to its significant social, environmental, and economic consequences. People in Pakistan are however not adequately informed or educated on the causes, impacts, and available mitigation or adaptation measures of the climate issue. Majority of the people perceive that the government's role in reducing Pakistan's vulnerability to the severe effects of climate change is inefficient. People in Pakistan mostly feel concerned about impending climate crisis but the lack of awareness and knowledge hinders any move towards an effective collective response to climate change. This study suggests that addressing the need for climate crisis enhanced knowledge and information is critical through more valuable communication methods and channels in order to improve people’s understanding towards an active response to climate crisis in Pakistan.