ISLAMABAD: During a meeting of the Climate Change Caucus on Tuesday, Senator Sherry Rehman proposed declaring Parliament House plastic-free.

While chairing the meeting, she said: `In the committees and across the parliament plastic bottles are being used to drink water.

We have to make the parliament free of plastic and become an example for the others so that they would follow.

During a briefing from the Ministry of Climate, Senator Rehman, who is the leader of the opposition in Senate, said it was unfortunate that there were no facilities to recycle plastic bottles in the country.

She added that all parliamentarians were responsible for strengthening the climate change ministry.

She said climate change has put Pakistan and the region at risk, and it is high time to take tangible steps to make comprehensive policies to mitigate climate stress.

The committee also discussed the implementation status of the Basel Convention and other key issues pertaining to Pakistan`s capacity to comply with it.

Senator Shibli Faraz, the leader of the house in Senate, said the public and stakeholders needed to be given awareness of the convention.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is the most comprehensive global environmental treaty on hazardous and other kinds of waste. The convention intends to minimize the amount and toxicity of wastes generated.

Senator Usman Khan Kakar said environmental changes were provincial issues and should be taken up at the platform of the Council of Common Interests.

However, Senator Faisal Javed said things had become confusing after the 18th Amendment and since then, a blame game was going on among federal and provincial governments. He suggested that the climate change ministry come forwarded with solutions to these issues.

The caucus called upon the ministry to put forward recommendations to curtail the use of plastic and chart a way forward to phase out excessive plastic usage. They also underlined the need for strong links between federal and provincial governments to make efforts to discourage excessive use of plastic.

State Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul told the senators there is a proposal under consideration to impose higher taxes on plastic; the caucus proposed that the ministry also take steps to raise public awareness about the hazardous effects of reused plastic material.