Venue: Conference Hall, CDPR

Date: 13th Dec 2017, Friday

Time: 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm

Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR) hosted its eighteenth Lahore Policy Exchange talk on “Lahore’s smog crisis: A regional approach.” November in Lahore ushers a month-long period of smog in the city, sometimes referred to as its “fifth season”. Crop stubble burning in Punjab and industrial air pollution form a haze over the city that limits the line of sight and makes it toxic to inhale. This problem isn’t only limited to Lahore: Satellite images reveal a gray corridor of smog hugging the Himalayas and affecting other major cities along its path. To further explain how the smog problem got worse, and the actions needed to address it, CDPR’s event featured four speakers: Ali Habib, Managing Partner at Hima Verte and former Director General of WWF Pakistan, discussed the sources of smog and how to mitigate its effect. Sanval Nasim, Assistant Professor of Economics, LUMS, discussed the causes of smog in Punjab and presented policy instruments for controlling it. Saif Anjum, Secretary, Environment Protection Department, Government of Punjab, explained the government’s approach to the smog crisis. Santosh Harish (via skype), Associate Director of Research (India), Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, discussed air pollution in India’s context. Rafay Alam, Environmental lawyer and activist, and co-founder of Saleem, Alam & Co., a law firm, moderated the session.