Abstract
Pakistan is embarking on its mega project CPEC, in partnership with China, which is a part of the larger One Belt One Road project and it brings with it great promise for both China and Pakistan. Due to the enormous planned development and energy-generation activities, primarily through coal, the danger of damage to the environment is equally enormous. Whereas China is moving away from coalbased energy and is implementing stricter pollution-control laws, Pakistan is initiating such projects now, despite its international commitments, and that too without strictly undertaking environmental assessments or without having a very good history of implementing its environmental protection laws. If Pakistan does not take timely action to ensure the prevention of environmental degradation, its people could suffer greatly due to the resulting adverse effects to the environment; the fallout of which could also impact the rest of the world.
Keyword(s)
environment, pollution, environmental cost, CPEC, China, Pakistan