Pakistan minister says filtering factory smoke protects public health and cuts carbon emissions

Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr. Musadik Malik stated that filtering and purifying factory smoke emissions is a simple but effective way to protect public health and reduce carbon pollution. Speaking at an Urban Forest in Karachi, he linked industrial emissions to rising temperatures, glacier melt, and devastating floods that have killed thousands and displaced millions in Pakistan. He highlighted how the urban forest uses treated sewage water to grow trees that absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, acting as a natural carbon sink. Malik also described the soil microbiome as a massive underground carbon storage system that helps prevent climate catastrophe. The urban forest project demonstrates how polluted resources like sewage water can be treated and reused to create green spaces that capture carbon and lower local temperatures. The minister framed this as a practical example of how filtering factory smoke and investing in nature based solutions can directly protect public health and reduce climate risks.