Pakistan

About

A Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) partner since 2017, Pakistan has received support for activities in the bricks, household energy, agriculture, and waste sectors. In 2021, Pakistan started work with the CCAC on national planning for short-lived climate pollutant mitigation. 

In 2021, Pakistan submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) indicating the intention to reduce up to 50% of projected emissions by 2030, with 15% from the country’s own resources and 35% subject to the provision of international grant finance. The updated NDCs included new areas of action for enhanced commitment, including short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and air pollution. High priority mitigation options outlined in their updated NDCs include introducing clean cookstoves, controlling methane emissions from rice production, upgrading brick kilns to zig-zag technology, transitioning to Euro-5 emission standards, and promoting better manure storage and management in the livestock industry. 

The National Transport Policy of Pakistan, announced in 2018, outlines eight key policy objectives for the country’s transport sector, including fostering sustainable urban development and preserving the environment. Actions such as improving fuel standards, promoting sustainable modes of transport, and implementing a regulatory framework will be used to achieve these objectives. 

Pakistan joined the US- and EU-led Global Methane Pledge on October 11th, 2021, committing to the collective goal of reducing global methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. The country aims to act on methane mitigation by moving towards using the best available inventory methodologies to quantify methane emissions, with a particular focus on their high emission sources.  

Pakistan is a focus country for the CCAC’s work to reduce black carbon emissions in the bricks sector. Together with the CCAC and ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development), the government is educating brick makers about cost-effective alternatives to traditional kiln technology that will simultaneously reduce emissions and produce health and agricultural benefits. In the past three years, over 7,000 conventional brick kilns have been converted into "zigzag" kilns, resulting in a 60% reduction in black carbon emissions, a 40% reduction in particulate matter emissions, and a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions.  

Together with the UN Environment Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), the CCAC is carrying out activities in Pakistan to help reduce methane emissions from rice paddies. These activities will include country-specific scoping studies on SLCPs, developing Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Activities (NAMA) concepts and associated financial strategies, and preparing project proposals for low-emissions rice production. 

Waste generation and the related emissions from waste are expected to increase as Pakistan undergoes rapid urbanization. However, mitigation measures are already in place to help minimize negative impacts such as waste prevention, recycling, composting, and capturing methane emissions from landfills and wastewater. Learn more about Pakistan’s climate and clean air actions below. 

Other Activities

Waste

• In 2018, Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority approved the development of a 400 MW waste-to-energy power plant in the city of Lahore. The plant is part of Pakistan’s efforts to effectively manage waste while also promoting renewable and indigenous resources for power generation. 
• In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency of Pakistan published a gazette, banning all manufacturing, wholesale trading, and importing of polythene bags in the Federal Capital, with the aim of reducing the amount of plastic sent to landfills. 

Transport

• The National Transport Policy of Pakistan, adopted in 2018, has several measures targeted at cutting the sectors climate and air pollutant emissions. Among these are the development and integration of walking and cycling infrastructures into the urban streetscape and pursuing electric and other low-carbon transport means. 
• In 2018, a project commenced in Karachi to establish a 30 kilometer, fully segregated bus rapid transit (BRT) system operated with the “world’s first” biomethane hybrid bus fleet.  
• The Pakistan Electric Vehicle Policy was adopted in 2020 with the target to achieve a 30% shift in sales to electric vehicles by 2030. A set of tax cuts came into effect in July 2021 to incentivize the adoption of electric vehicles.  

Bricks

• In 2018, the Environment Protection Department of Punjab issued a notification to no longer permit the construction of new brick kilns without zigzag technology. The order further calls for brick kilns using traditional firing technology to be shut during the smog season. 
• In 2021, the Ministry of Climate Change announced that all 7,896 traditional brick kilns in the Punjab province of Pakistan had been converted to zigzag technology, which would significantly contribute to reducing air pollution in the province. 

Energy

• The National Climate Change Policy of Pakistan of 2012 included multiple policy measures to reduce emissions from the country’s energy sector, including promoting and providing incentives for coal-bed methane capture, and prioritizing importation of natural gas, LNG, and LPG over coal and oil. 
• Initiated in 2019, the Alternative and Renewable Energy Policy of Pakistan directs the country’s energy sector to have 20% of its generation capacity from alternative and renewable sources by 2025, and 30% by 2030. 
• Furthering the efforts to cut emissions from the energy sector, in 2020, the Pakistani government announced to halt the construction of new coal power plants in the country. 

Agriculture

• The National Climate Change Policy adopted in 2012 outlines several measures to control methane emissions from the agricultural sector. Highlighted measures such as management of water in rice paddy fields and introduction of low water-dependent rice varieties would help the country’s agriculture sector cut emissions while improving productivity. 

Household Energy

• In 2016, Jaan Pakistan worked with Grand Challenges Canada to reduce black carbon emissions and household air pollution by introducing clean cookstoves across Pakistan. Jaan Pakistan is now working to scale this initiative with state support and other partnerships.