ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly`s parliamentary task force on sustainable development goals on Tuesday learnt that Pakistan had failed to achieve its targets to improve the quality of education, women empowerment, healthcare facilities and environment.

The newly-formed committee, which met herefor a better understanding on currentissues of climate change in the country, was informed how Pakistan had failed to meet most of its millennium development goals (MDGs) such as the eradication of extreme poverty, promotion of primary education, checking child mortality, promotion of gender equality and ensuring environmental sustainability.

The members were also informed how Pakistan was off track on 23 of 34 indicators which needed an improvement.

`The lack of parliamentarians` oversight, awareness and education among the citizens and no indigenous research and development are among some of the major reasons why the MDGs have not been met and the poor continue to suffer,` said Taugeer Sheikh, the CEO of LEAD, a local NGO working on environment conservation, while briefing the meeting.

Speakers at the meeting put the estimated environmental costs at $14 billion ayear, which is six per cent of the country`s gross domestic product (GDP). The meeting was informed that poverty, gender equality, water, sanitation and energy were the four sustainable development goals (SDGs) sensitive to the climate change.

While some praised the present government for forming standing committees in both the Senate and National Assembly, other members were disappointed to learn that the 2015-16 budget did not mention the climate change as a major challenge to economic growth. It only reflected how improving the state of environment remained amongst the lowest of priorities of the government.

All members of the committee agreed that environment should be made a part of the curriculum to create awareness, especially amongst children.

The members lamented when they were informed that the inefficient use of waterand energy as well as deforestation had become rampant and could only be addressed by spreading public awareness on making conservation as a part of the dailylife.

Mushahidullah Khan, the chair of the committee, said he was trying to bring provinces on board to save the forests in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

`There is an extreme poverty where forests have disappeared,` he said, agreeing to suggestions from the members that one of the effective ways to spread awareness was to make the best of airtime on television channels besides launching campaigns.

The members also emphasised improving water infrastructure to save at least one per cent or 1.3 million acre feet of the 130 million acre feet water that flowed into Pakistan from the north.