Struggling to survive the Smog season especially in Lahore, one cannot help but wonder if greenwashing is undermining the effectiveness of the various green initiatives taken under the ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
So, this year the long-term strategy in Punjab has shut down schools and offices on Monday to reduce vehicular pollution and thus Smog but this is not a long term solution to Smog.
In carbon trading, a carbon credit is issued for every ton of avoided greenhouse gases, and holders of the credits can then contribute the credits to their national environmental targets, or sell them back on the money market.
Similarly, environmentally harmful business practices can be observed in the case of factories emitting air pollution and dumping waste into water bodies while advertising their greenwashing practices in annual reports and websites.
It must be understood that the ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ vision cannot be realized with greenwashing, just like the ‘Riyasat-e-Madina’ ideology cannot be implemented through bluewashing.