EHS Services has been appointed by WWF-Pakistan in May 2020 to conduct a study titled “Effects of Climate Change on Businesses in Pakistan with special focus on Textile and Leather”
The Global Climate Risk Index (2019) has declared Pakistan as the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to the impacts of climate change. The production of cotton has been severely affected by climate change such as reduced yields and poor fiber quality destroying over a third of Pakistan’s expected cotton harvest in 2019. Experts have warned that due to this, Pakistan could suffer a loss of US $3 billion by the end of current fiscal year in June 2020. This will directly affect the textile industry. Moreover, climate change induced recurrent droughts and floods and changing vegetation pattern will affect the supply chain of the leather sector as well. This study will be carried out to assess the potential risks posed by climate change on businesses, motivations or lack thereof by the businesses to take actions and prospective steps that can be taken by them to prevent and tackle effects of climate change. The study will also look into potential opportunities due to changing climatic conditions.