NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY

GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN
MINISTRY OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Islamabad, Pakistan
Updated March 2021
Foreword
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 Preamble
Pakistan is among the countries that are negatively impacted by the effects of climate
change. As its frequent exposure to natural hazards, and significant dependence on
monsoon rainfall and the glacier-fed Indus Basin make it vulnerable to climate change.
The country’s socioeconomic circumstances further augment its vulnerability to
projected temperature increases, more variable rainfall patterns, and greater risk of
floods and droughts. Further, emerging risks coupled with ecological vulnerability are
exacerbating problems.

In view of Pakistan’s high vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change, in

particular extreme events, adaptation effort is the focus of this updated policy
document. The vulnerabilities of various sectors to climate change have been
highlighted and appropriate adaptation measures spelled out. These cover policy
measures to address issues in various sectors such as water, agriculture, forestry,
coastal areas, biodiversity and other vulnerable ecosystems. Notwithstanding the fact
that Pakistan’s contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is small, its role
as a responsible member of the global community in combating climate change has
been highlighted by giving due importance to mitigation efforts in sectors such as
energy, transport, forestry and agriculture.

Furthermore, appropriate measures relating to disaster preparedness, capacity building,

institutional strengthening; technology transfer and international cooperation have also
been incorporated as important components of the policy.

Most recently the Prime Minister in his speech at the ‘UN Climate Ambition Summit’ in
December 2020 has set the direction of Pakistan’s pathway to decarbonising the
country’s economy. He declared that 60 percent of all energy produced in the country
by 2030 will be ‘clean and through renewable resources, thirty percent of all the
country’s vehicles will be electric vehicles and that Pakistan will no longer pursue coal
power plants. These broad pronouncements in addition to a “Ten Billion Tree Tsunami
Afforestation Initiative” can provide the country’s roadmap for the achievement of
NDCs emission reduction goals.

The updated National Climate Change Policy-2021’s goal is to steer Pakistan towards
climate resilient and low carbon development. Thus it would provide a comprehensive
framework for addressing the issues that Pakistan faces and will face in future due to
changing [Link] policy document is a ‘living’ document and will be reviewed and
updated regularly to address emerging concepts and issues in the ever-evolving science
of climate change.
Table of Contents
1. Goal ....................................................................................................................................................... 1
2. Policy Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 1
3. Pakistan’s Vulnerability to Climate Change Threats ............................................................................. 2
4. Climate Change Adaptation .................................................................................................................. 3
4.1. Water Resources ............................................................................................................................... 3
4.2. Agriculture and Livestock .................................................................................................................. 6
4.3. Human Health ................................................................................................................................... 9
4.4. Forestry ........................................................................................................................................... 10
4.5. Biodiversity ..................................................................................................................................... 14
4.6. Other Vulnerable Ecosystems ......................................................................................................... 16
[Link] Areas.......................................................................................................................... 16
[Link] and Pastures ........................................................................................................... 17
[Link] and Marine Ecosystems................................................................................................. 19
[Link] .................................................................................................................................... 21
4.7. Disaster Preparedness .................................................................................................................... 22
4.8. Socioeconomic Measures ............................................................................................................... 24
[Link] ....................................................................................................................................... 24
[Link] ....................................................................................................................................... 26
5. Climate Change Mitigation ................................................................................................................. 27
5.1. Energy ............................................................................................................................................. 28
5.2. Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation .................................................................................... 30
5.3. Transport......................................................................................................................................... 31
5.4. Urban Planning & Waste Management .......................................................................................... 32
5.5. Industries ........................................................................................................................................ 34
5.6. Carbon Sequestration and Forestry ................................................................................................ 36
6. Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening ............................................................................. 37
7. Awareness Raising............................................................................................................................... 40
8. International and Regional Cooperation............................................................................................. 41
9. Finance ................................................................................................................................................ 43
10. Technology Transfer ....................................................................................................................... 44
11. Policy Implementation Mechanism ................................................................................................ 45
1. Goal
To ensure that climate change is mainstreamed in the economically and socially
vulnerable sectors of the economy and to steer Pakistan towards climate
compatible development.

2. Policy Objectives
The main objectives of Pakistan’s National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) include:
1. To pursue sustained economic growth by appropriately addressing the challenges
of climate change;
2. To integrate climate change policy with other inter-related national policies;
3. To focus on pro-poor gender sensitive adaptation while also promoting
mitigation to the extent possible in a cost-effective manner;
4. To build climate-resilient infrastructure;
5. To track impact of climate change on water, food and energy security of the
country, and to implement remedial plans to support water, energy and food
policies;
6. To minimize the risks arising from the potential increase in frequency and
intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and tropical storms;
7. To develop climate-resilient agriculture and food systems for all agro-ecological
zones in the country;
8. To promote country’s transition to cleaner, lower emission and less carbon
intensive development;
9. To accelerate the policy coherence and integration to achieve the United Nations’
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the light of its Sustainable
Development Report 2020 (SDR2020) and our Nationally Determined
Contributions;
10. To strengthen inter-ministerial and inter-provincial decision making and
coordination mechanisms on climate change;
11. To facilitate effective use of the opportunities, particularly financial, available
both nationally and internationally;
12. To foster the development of appropriate economic incentives to encourage
public and private sector investment in adaptation and mitigation measures;
13. To enhance the awareness, skill and institutional capacity of relevant
stakeholders;
14. To promote tree plantation, conservation of natural resources, nature-based
solutions and long term sustainability;

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3. Pakistan’s Vulnerability to Climate Change Threats
The important climate change threats to Pakistan are:

1. Considerable increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather

events, coupled with erratic monsoon rains causing frequent and intense
floods and droughts;
2. Projected recession of the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalayan (HKH) glaciers
due to global warming and black carbon soot deposits from indigenous and
trans-boundary pollution sources, threatening water inflows into the Indus
River System (IRS);
3. Increased siltation of major dams caused by more frequent and intense rains
in the catchment areas and subsecquent floods;
4. Rising temperatures resulting in enhanced heat and water-stressed
conditions, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, leading to reduced
agricultural productivity;
5. Increasing air pollution from agriculture, transport and industry resulting into
smog inflicting huge loss to aviation, reduced mobility, loss of lives in
accidents due to poor visibility and health hazard;
6. Further decrease in the already scanty forest cover, from too rapid change in
climatic conditions to allow natural migration of adversely affected plant
species and wildlife habitat;
7. Increased intrusion of saline water in the Indus delta, adversely affecting
coastal agriculture, mangroves and the breeding grounds of fish;
8. Threat to coastal areas due to projected sea level rise and increased cyclonic
activity due to higher sea surface temperatures;
9. Increased stress between the upper and lower riparian regions in relation to
sharing of water resources;
10. Increased health risks and climate change induced migration.

The above threats may lead to major survival concerns for Pakistan, particularly
in relation to the country’s water security, food security and energy security.

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4. Climate Change Adaptation
Pakistan makes a tiny contribution to the total global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
(among the lowest in the world) but it is among the countries most vulnerable to
climate change, and it has very low technical and financial capacity at the moment to
adapt to its adverse impacts. While Pakistan is working on a strategy that seeks to
conserve energy, improve energy efficiency and optimize fuel mix to support global
efforts for reduction in GHG emissions, the more immediate and pressing task is to
prepare itself for adaptation to climate change. Only by devising and implementing
appropriate adaptation measures, preferably nature-based solution at national and local
levels, it will be possible to ensure water, food and energy security for the country as
well as to minimize the impact of natural disasters on the economy, human life, health
and property.

4.1. Water Resources

Water resources are inextricably linked with climate; this is why the projected climate
change has such serious implications for Pakistan’s water resources. Freshwater
resources in Pakistan are based on snow and glacier-melt and monsoon rains, both
highly sensitive to climate change. The most significant recent development is the
approval of a first ever National Water Policy package comprising a Policy and a
Charter by Pakistan’s Council of Common Interests on 23 rd April 2018. The Water Policy
outlines a framework for interventions by the federal and provincial governments to
address various issues driving from the declining supply and deteriorating quality of
water, threatening the prosperity and health of a rapidly growing population. The
policy embraces the recommendations of the National Climate Change Policy to
counter the adverse effects of climate change, in particular extreme weather events
such as floods, prolonged droughts, and heat waves as well as the rising sea level
inundating coastal land and aquifers.

Whereas, the country specific climate change projections strongly suggest the
following future trends in Pakistan: decrease in glacier volume and snow cover leading
to alterations in the seasonal flow pattern of the Indus River System (IRS); increased
annual flows for a few decades followed by decline in flows in subsequent years;
increase in the formation and outburst of glacial lakes; higher frequency and intensity
of extreme climate events coupled with irregular monsoon rains causing frequent
floods and droughts; and greater demand on water due to higher evapo-transpiration
rates at elevated temperatures.

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 These trends will have a significant impact on the spatial and temporal distribution of
water resources on both annual and inter-annual basis in the country. This will further
exacerbate the already difficult situation of a water-stressed country facing demand
increases due to population growth and increasing economic activity. To address the
impact of climate change on water resources and to enhance water security, the
Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with relevant entities shall take the following
measures:

Policy Measures

I. Water Storage and Infrastructure

a. Assess and address the needs for additional water storage and distribution
infrastructure;
b. Ensure early rehabilitation, remodeling and up-gradation of the existing
irrigation infrastructure in the country to make it resilient to climate change
related extreme events;
c. Develop multi-purpose small dams for storage of flood water;
d. Identify new potential dam sites to keep the option open to develop new
dams, should they be needed;
e. Develop necessary infrastructure to harness the potential of hill torrents;
f. Enforce measures to enhance the life of existing storage facilities.

II. Water Conservation Strategies

a. Ensure water conservation at all levels, reduce irrigation system losses and
provide incentives for adoption of more efficient irrigation techniques;
b. Introduce local rainwater harvesting measures.

III. Integrated Water Resource Management

a. Ensure that, in making water allocations (within gross national availability) to
various sectors in the medium- to long-term, due consideration is given to
changes in sectoral demands caused by climate change;
b. Protect groundwater through management and technical measures such as
regulatory frameworks, water licensing, slow action dams, artificial recharge
especially for threatened aquifers, and adoption of integrated water resource
management concepts;
c. Ensure rational ground water exploitation by avoiding excessive pumping;
d. Ensure recycling of wastewater through proper treatment and its reuse, for
example in agriculture, artificial wetlands and groundwater recharge;

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e. Protect and preserve water catchment areas and reservoirs against
degradation, silting and irrigation system contamination;
f. Encourage active participation of farmers in water management along with
line departments by accelerating implementation of participatory irrigation
management reforms;
g. Ensure water distribution among provinces as far as possible in accordance
with crop sowing timings;
h. Address sea water intrusion into the Indus Deltaic Region by allocating the
requisite water flow downstream of Kotri;
i. Take appropriate measures to preserve the ecology of dry river reaches of the
Eastern Rivers;
j. Develop contingency plans for short-term measures to adapt to water
shortages that could help mitigate drought;
k. Explore the possibility of joint watershed management of trans-boundary
catchment areas with neighboring countries;
l. Safeguard Pakistan’s rights on trans-boundary water inflows according to
international norms and conventions;
m. Explore the possibility of entering into a water treaty with Afghanistan;
n. Promote integrated watershed management including ecological
conservation practices in uphill watersheds.

IV. Legislative Framework

a. Legislate and enforce industrial and domestic waste management practices to
protect the environment, in particular water resources, from further
degradation;
b. Enact and enforce laws and regulations required for efficient water resource
management and a groundwater regulatory framework;
c. Protect the HKH glaciers, considered the world’s water tower, by declaring
them as ‘protected areas’ through agreements among countries sharing the
Himalayan region.

V. Enhancing Capacity
a. Develop and extend water efficient technologies and techniques for sea water
utilization, water recycling and avoiding wasteful use of domestic and drinking
water;
b. Promote and assist Balochistan farmers in improving and sustaining an
age-old Sailaba farming irrigation system which offers considerable
scope for improvement if constructed and managed properly;

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 c. Ensure measurement and monitoring of irrigation water delivery at various
points of the supply system for effective planning and management;
d. Enhance national capacities in remote sensing and GIS techniques for
monitoring temporal changes in glaciers and snow cover;
e. Enhance national capacities for making seasonal hydro-meteorological
forecasts, particularly for monsoon rainfall;
f. Prepare a comprehensive inventory of all water resources, including surface
and groundwater, in order to support an efficient water management system
in the country;
g. Strengthen the current hydrological network to monitor river flows and flood
warning systems;
h. Devise and strengthen coordination mechanisms among national and
international water sector institutions;
i. Tap springwater for public water supply in hilly/mountaneous areas, where
applicable.

VI. Awareness Raising

Promote public awareness campaigns to underscore the importance of
conservation and sustainable use of water resources in partnership with all
stakeholders.

4.2. Agriculture and Livestock

Agriculture is central to human survival and is probably the human enterprise most
vulnerable to climate change. The agriculture sector, as the single largest sector of
Pakistan’s economy and is its lifeline. It accounts for 42.3% of the labor force, 18.9% of
GDP and 80% of total export earnings (Source: Pakistan Economic Survey 2017-18).
Pakistan has recently launched a National Food Security Policy-2018 and one of its goal
is to make agriculture more productive, profitable and climate resilient. As the
agriculture in Pakistan is greatly affected by short-term climate variability and could be
significantly impacted by long-term climate change. As the duration of crop growth
cycles is related to temperature, an increase in temperature will speed up crop growth
and shorten the time between sowing and harvesting. This shortening could have an
adverse effect on productivity of crops and fodder for livestock. The hydrological cycle
is similarly likely to be influenced by global warming, necessitating the agriculture and
livestock sectors, particularly in rain-fed areas, to adapt to climate change.

Since the agriculture sector is heavily dependent on the water sector, a number of
adaptation measures identified in Section 4.1 are equally applicable to the agriculture
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 sector and hence will not be repeated. To enhance national food security the
Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with relevant entities, shall take on the
following additional adaptation measures:

Policy Measures

I. Research
a. Develop appropriate digital simulation models for assessment of climate
change impacts on physical, chemical, biological and financial aspects of
agricultural production systems in various agro-ecological zones;
b. Develop new varieties of crops which are high yielding, resistant to heat
stress, drought tolerant, less vulnerable to heavy spells of rains and less prone
to attack by insects and pests;
c. Develop and introduce better breeds of livestock with higher milk and meat
productivity and which are less prone to heat stress and more drought
tolerant;
d. Develop quality datasets on crop, soil and climate related parameters to
identify ideal cropping patterns for each region and facilitate research work
on climate change impact assessment and productivity projection studies;
e. Enhance the research capacity of various relevant organizations to make
reliable predictions of climatic parameters and river flows for seasonal, inter-
annual and inter-decadal timeframes, to assess the corresponding likely
impacts on various crops and to develop appropriate adaptation measures;
f. Promote targeted research on adoption of sustainable land management
practices;
g. Enhance the capacity of the farming community to take advantage of the
scientific findings of relevant research organizations.;
h. Document and promote appropriate indigenous knowledge and best
practices.

II. Technology
a. Improve crop productivity per unit of land and per unit of water by increasing
the efficiency of various agricultural inputs, in particular irrigation water;
b. Promote energy efficient farm mechanization to increase yields and labor
saving;
c. Improve farm practices by adopting modern techniques such as laser land
leveling, crop diversification, proper cropping patterns and optimized planting
dates;

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d. Promote appropriate technologies for small-scale irrigation, water re-use
(waste/water recycling), and rainwater harvesting, etc.
e. Promote through financial incentives, solar water desalination for irrigation
and drinking particularly in saline groundwater regions;
f. Improve irrigation practices by adopting, wherever feasible, modern
techniques such as the use of sprinklers and trickle irrigation;
g. Develop capacity based on Remote Sensing and GIS techniques to assess
temporal changes in land cover in different agro-ecological zones;
h. Promote biotechnology in terms of more carbon responsive crops, improved
breeds and production of livestock using genetic engineering.

III. General Management

a. Establish Climate Change Units in agriculture research organizations to devise
adaptive strategies for projected impacts of climate change on agriculture;
b. Promote horizontal expansion of cultivated lands through development of
wastelands, and rainwater harvesting through community based approaches
to development;
c. Promote feed conservation techniques and fodder banks in arable areas;
d. Ensure availability of quality feed and fodder to livestock to supplement their
grazing on rangelands;
e. Improve the nutritional quality of feed through the use of multi-nutrient
blocks (MNB) prepared from urea, molasses, vitamins and minerals;
f. Ensure an enabling financial environment for farmers to invest in and adopt
the relevant technologies to overcome climate related stresses;
g. Improve post-harvest capacity, such as storage and processing facilities and
infrastructure , preferably at farm level.

IV. Risk Management

a. Develop a proper risk management system including crop insurance to
safeguard against crop failures due to extreme events (such as floods and
droughts);
b. Improve the extension system and enhance use of the media to allow
effective and timely communication of climatic predictions and corresponding
advice to farming communities;
c. Encourage farmers, particularly in rain-fed areas, to avoid monoculture and,
instead, plant a variety of heat and drought resistant low delta crops, so as to
reduce the risk of crop failure;

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 d. Encourage agriculture drought management practices that recognize drought
as part of a highly variable climate, as opposed to treating it as a causal
natural disaster;
e. Establish livestock disease monitoring and surveillance systems at district
level.

4.3. Human Health

It is now widely recognized that the increased frequency and intensity of extreme
weather events such as heat and cold waves, heavy or too little precipitation, strong
winds and cyclones due to climate change have serious implications for human health.
For example, floods and storms not only increase the risk of death and injuries; they
have other health implications such as diarrheal diseases because of insufficient clean
water availability for drinking, personal hygiene or for washing food. They may also
cause severe psychological problems among the affected population (e.g. mental
health effects such as depression have been observed in the aftermath of the
disastrous 2010 floods). Similarly, incidence of many vector borne diseases such as
malaria and dengue fever, which are sensitive to temperature and rainfall, may
increase with the expected changes in climate. One of the gap in this area is
inadequate national data to provide complete and reliable information on the impacts
of climate change on health. In order to address the impact of climate change on
human health, the Government shall take the following measures:
Policy Measures
a. Assess the health vulnerabilities of communities in areas most likely to be
affected by the adverse impact of climate change, and build their capacities to
reduce these vulnerabilities;
b. Ensure that appropriate measures to address health related climate change
issues are incorporated into national health plans;
c. Inform, sensitize, educate and train health personnel and the public about
climate change related health issues;
d. Ensure that preventive measures and resources such as vaccines, good quality
medication and clean drinking water are available to the general public easily
and cost effectively particularly during climate related extreme events;
e. Upgrade and extend disease outbreak monitoring and forecasting systems to
counteract possible climate change health impacts and support prior planning
for effective interventions;
f. Improve data recording, reporting, analysis and storage of climate-sensitive
diseases at all levels of service delivery.
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 g. Conduct assessments on the impacts of climate change on vector/waterborne
and nutritional diseases;
h. Prioritize climate-related risks based on the assessment and identifying
technology and infrastructure options to improve resilience in the Water,
Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector;
i. Explore public-private partnerships to resolve the issue of financial access for
WASH service provision as well as quality assurance;
j. Adopt water and sanitation safety plans for rural and urban areas.

4.4. Forestry
Climate change is likely to have multi-faceted adverse effects on the ecosystem as a
whole, particularly on the already vulnerable forestry sector in Pakistan. The diversity
of landscapes and climates in Pakistan allow a wide variety of trees and plants to
flourish. Some of the world’s most unique forests including Juniper, Deodar, Oak and
Chilghoza forests exist in the country despite the fact that only 5.45% of the total land
area is under forest. A significant portion of land area is occupied with coastal, riverine,
scrub and coniferous forests. These forests provide multiple benefits in the form of
regulating water flow, controlling soil erosion, major source of carbon sequestration,
medicinal plants and support livelihood at local level.

The forests in Pakistan suffer from a number of problems – many linked to habitat
change and land degradation. Pakistan is predominantly a dry country, with about 80%
of its area falling in semi-arid and arid region. The changes in water regime, due to
change in weather patterns pose additional threats in the form of drought and
resultant desertification. The most likely impacts of climate change will be decreased
productivity, changes in species composition, reduced forest area, unfavorable
conditions for biodiversity, higher flood risks etc.

The rate of deforestation does not commensurate with the rehabilitation efforts. The
share of public investment towards rehabilitation is disappointedly low. The
repercussions are in the form of low growth and decline in yield of existing forests.
Deforestation in watershed areas has adversely impacted the yield and quality of
water at outlets besides triggering land degradation and loss of biodiversity. In low-
lying and coastal areas, deforestation amplify floods and facilitate sea water intrusion
inflicting huge economic losses.

In 2017 Government of Pakistan approved its National Forest Policy (NFP) that seeks
to expand, protect and promote sustainable use of national forests, protected areas,

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 natural habitats and watersheds for restoring ecological functions, improving
livelihoods and human health in line with the national priorities and international
agreements. It has three pronged approach i.e. conserve existing forests, increase tree
cover through community participation, and meet international obligations related to
forests. The policy has provision for implementing a national level mass afforestation
programme to expand and maintain optimum forest cover and enhance role and
contribution of forests in reducing carbon emissions by increasing forest carbon pools.
The policy provided a legal basis for the federal government to arrange and extend
support to all provinces and regions towards achieving their respective targets and
meeting international obligations by improving their capacity and financial gaps for
forestry sector.

Considerable efforts were made over the past five years to revive forest resource in
the country. Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme (TBTTP) was approved by ECNEC on
29-8-2019. The first phase of the programme is being implemented throughout
Pakistan with the support of all provincial governments including AJ&K and GB for a
period of four years (2019-20 to 2022-23). During this first phase of the programme a
total of 3.29 billion plants will be planted/regenerated. The TBTTP is extension of
Billion Tree Afforestation Project (BTAP) that was implemented in the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province to successfully plant / regenerate one billion plants from 2015
to 2018. Both these initiatives have world wide recognition.

Adaptation in the forestry sector entails the need to restore and enhance Pakistan’s
forests under sustainable forest management, with particular focus on how these are
affected by climate change. This will not only benefit state forests but forest
dependent communities and society as a whole.

The scope of this part of the policy is to recommend adaptation measures to prepare
Pakistan’s forestry sector to withstand present and possible future impacts of climate
change. To minimize the risks and vulnerability of forests and biological diversity from
climate change, the Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with relevant entities,
shall take the following measures:

Policy Measures
I. Awareness Raising
a. Signify the importance of forests to mitigate extreme weather events
including heat waves, floods, etc.
b. Encourage multinational firms and agencies to support awareness campaigns
on benefits of forest ecosystems through ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’.

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 II. Research & Education
a. Encourage empirical research on adaptation of forests, biodiversity and forest
management systems to climate change;
b. Encourage collaboration with international scientific bodies to extend their
forest related adaptation research into Pakistan;
c. Encourage research on forest pathology at provincial level to curtail insect/
disease damage to forests;
d. Establish a federal level Center of Excellence on forestry for international level
research and higher level education.

III. Reforms in Governance

a. Resolve Issues in the land tenure system of forest areas on a priority basis, in
close consultation with local communities to streamline adaptation measures;
b. Facilitate professional leadership for the sake of better management of
forests;
c. Develop effective mechanisms to safeguard the interests of vulnerable forest
dependent communities;
d. Streamline forest ownership structures into national and local level policies

IV. Enhancing Adaptive Capacity

a. Ensure the availability of sufficient and properly trained forest workers with
enhanced capabilities to face the challenges of climate change;
b. Initiate pilot projects on adaptation efforts in the forestry sector with
multilateral assistance;
c. Ensure implementation of UNFCCC’s decisions on REDD+ to obtain result
based payments against carbon sequestration potential of existing forest
resource.

V. Forest Management
a. Aggressively pursue afforestation and reforestation programs with plantation
suited to the effects of climate change;
b. Restore degraded mangrove forests in the deltaic region and prevent their
further degradation by allowing minimum necessary environmental flows
downstream of Kotri;
c. Explore the use of new planning and decision-making support tools to deal
with uncertainty and risk in long-term forest planning;

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d. Investigate and discover new forest management and adaptive planning
options in line with the scientific research on climate change;
e. Endorse area specific adaptive forest management and conservation practices
with greater participation of forest dependent communities;
f. Ensure documentation and utilization of indigenous knowledge while
managing various types of forests in the context of climate change;
g. Ensure management, protection and connection of forest fragments to
increase resilience and minimize adverse impact from external pressures;
h. Promote the sustainable management of forests according to national and
international norms;
i. Consider expanding protected areas in the country with respect to ecological
parameters including conservation of wildlife and their habitats;
j. Enforce laws and regulations required for addressing the illegal trade in
timber/deforestation;
k. Encourage use of alternate fuels to prevent deforestation;
l. Encourage sustainable use of non-timber forest produce (NTFP) including wild
fauna and birds;
m. Pilot Natural Capital Accounts NCA for protected ecosystems.

VI. Arresting Soil Erosion

a. Ensure management of forest lands in accordance with water and soil
management strategies;
b. Carry out afforestation of barren and degraded lands as well as uphill
watershed areas to control sediment and various types of soil erosion;
c. Identify and declare uphill fragile watershed areas as sensitive and bring them
under special silvicultural management by involving local communities to
check floods and siltation of water reservoirs;
d. Apply various slope stabilization and run-off reduction techniques at exposed
sites in mountain forest areas such as vegetation lines, check dams and spurs.

VII. Reducing Forest Fires, Disease Outbreaks and Other Damage

a. Establish forest fire prediction and protection services in the country;
b. Enhance capacity building of forest departments to combat forest fires and
involve forest communities in detection and suppression of wildfires;
c. Ensure biological control of forest pests by maintaining viable populations of
predatory birds and insects;
d. Encourage afforestation of indigenous species and only useful and tested
exotic species;

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 e. Increase the species mix to enhance the adaptive capacity of forests as part
of a pest and disease management strategy;
f. Promote integrated pest management practices;
g. Fabricate uneven and aged forest belts around forest parks to avoid adverse
effects of possible snow and wind storms;
h. Adopt area and species specific adaptive silvicultural practices to reduce
environmental damage.

4.5. Biodiversity
Biological diversity is a fundamental building block of the services that ecosystems
deliver to human societies. Intrinsically important due to its contribution to the
functioning of ecosystems, biological diversity is difficult to recover or replace once
eroded. As mentioned earlier (Section 4.4), climate change is likely to have severe
consequences on the entire ecological system, and biological diversity in Pakistan is no
exception. Climate change is likely to impact on the phenology and species distribution
along with community composition and ecosystem dynamics. A rapid increase in
temperature, for instance, may exceed the ability of many species to adapt to these
changes. The best answer to these challenges is the “Ecosystem-based Adaptation”
(EbA), involving the conservation, sustainable management and restoration of
ecosystems that can help people adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The Government of Pakistan in December 2019 launched its very innovative ‘Ecosystem
Restoration Initiative (ESRI) for facilitating transition towards environmentally resilient
Pakistan by mainstreaming adaptation and mitigation through ecologically targeted
initiatives. This initiative also established an independent, transparent and
comprehensive financial mechanism in Pakistan called “Ecosystem Restoration Fund
(ESRF)” to finance the projects and programmes under the initiative. This fund will
facilitate Pakistan’s transition towards climate compatible development. The fund’s
present initiatives include afforestation, biodiversity conservation, marine conservation,
promotion of eco-tourism and electric vehicles.

The Government of Pakistan launched “Protected Areas Initiative” in 2020. The main
objectives of the initiative is to expand protected areas to at least 15% of Pakistan’s area
by 2023. Furthermore, conservation of biodiversity shall be increased with proper
management plans, legislative interventions as well as standardised eco-infrastructure
designs.

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To conserve, restore and protect the biological diversity of Pakistan, the Government
shall take the following policy measures:

Policy Measures
a. Encourage empirical research at national key research institutions on flora
and fauna in the context of their responses to current and historical climatic
changes;
b. Set National Biodiversity Indicators and provide the requisite financial
resources for implementation of the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP);
c. Ensure the integrity of all ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity in the
country to deal with climate change adaptation and mitigation challenges;
d. Establish gene banks, seed banks, zoos and botanical gardens to conserve the
biological diversity of valuable species;
e. Integrate conservation and protection of biological diversity into various
disciplines such as forestry and marine and pastures;
f. Adopt ‘Ecosystem-based Adaptation’ as part of an overall adaptation strategy
to help people to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change;
g. Encourage involvement of local communities in conservation and sustainable
use of biodiversity;
h. Take necessary measures to establish nature reserves in areas that are rich in
biodiversity to preserve their existence;
i. Establish protected areas in all vulnerable ecosystems, particularly in coastal
and marine areas;
j. Assist genetically impoverished species or those that have important
ecosystem functions by providing natural migration corridors as well as
assisted migration;
k. Ensure proper management and mitigation of invasive species that are
expanding due to climate change effect;
l. Ensure proper management through biological control of pests (locust) to
prevent economic loss;
m. Ensure the expansion of current protected area coverage, and make these
protected areas fully functional with a proper ecological management plan to
ensure future ecosystem sustenance.

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4.6. Other Vulnerable Ecosystems

4.6.1. Mountain Areas

The most likely climate change risks to the mountain areas of Pakistan are:
Increase in frequency and intensity of precipitation, resulting in more frequent
flash floods and landslides; Increase in intensity of wind storms and lightning,
resulting in top soil erosion and forest fires; Increase in temperature, resulting in
rapid glacier melting and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and change in
cropping patterns.
The Government of Pakistan is presently undertaking a Glacier Lake Outburst
Floods (GLOFs) risk reduction project in Northern Pakistan. It aims to empower
communities to identify and manage risks associated with GLOFs and improve
community’s preparedness and disaster response.
To safeguard against likely climate change impacts on mountain areas and to
safeguard their ecosystems and ensure the livelihoods of people living there, the
Government shall take the following measures:

Policy Measures
a. Carry out detailed studies to identify the most fragile and resilient ecosystems
in all ecological zones;
b. Develop a program to prevent crop damage due to unexpected weather
changes by introducing cold and drought resistant short duration cereal crops
suited for high altitudes;
c. Set pilot projects to test warmer areas’ high-yielding crop varieties in the
mountain areas because the projected global warming may render these
varieties suitable for some mountain areas;
d. Introduce new feedstock technology for cattle and livestock suited to drier,
harsher climates at high altitudes;
e. Prevent accumulation of solid waste, trash and unwanted bio-mass in
mountain areas;
f. Ensure that slope stabilization is a mandatory part of all road construction
projects to minimize landslides;
g. Develop auditing systems for trekking expeditions to reduce fuel and waste
generation;
h. Restrict commercial activities such as illegal trade in timber and other
development activities detrimental to mountain ecology with community
involvement;

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i. Ensure involvement of local communities in conservation of mountain
biodiversity;
j. Ensure minimal exploitation of watershed areas declared as sensitive;
k. Promote the growth of natural barriers such as shrubs on mountain slopes, to
protect agricultural terraces from extreme soil erosion, wind, hailstorm and
snowstorm related damage;
l. ffect on mountain species due to climate change may be overcome by
preventing human – wildlife conflicts;
m. Promote the use of gravity drip irrigation and hydraulic ram pumps in the
mountains areas of Pakistan;
n. Promote and encourage the use of glacier grafting techniques in high altitude
areas;
o. Develop and maintain a sustainable Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs)
community-based disaster response and risk management system;
p. Undertake a comprehensive study to find and address the impact of “Black
Carbon Soot” and “Atmospheric Brown Cloud” on Pakistan’s glaciers and their
connection to climate change.

4.6.2. Rangelands and Pastures

The National Rangelands Policy provides a detailed sketch for rangelands
development in Pakistan. The role of rangelands in environmental conservation is
vital and important, and their existence and health is critical for conserving
biodiversity in Pakistan. Degradation of rangelands results in gradual loss of flora
and fauna. The potential effects of climate change on rangelands and pastures in
Pakistan are: reduced precipitation, increased heat, stronger wind, increased soil
erosion and abrupt weather changes in mountain pasture areas. To ensure food
security, based on livestock and pasture management, and ecosystem
maintenance in the light of impending climate change impacts, the Government
of Pakistan shall take the following policy measures:

Policy Measures
a. Ensure building vegetative barriers to safeguard against the erosion of
pastures and rangelands’ topsoil, particularly at higher altitudes;
b. Control and maintain livestock densities for optimal output;
c. Ensure close coordination among forest and livestock departments for
efficient management of rangelands and other resources while ensuring the
rights of the indigenous people;

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 d. Ensure the maintenance of soil and sub-soil moisture and vegetative cover to
safeguard rangelands from turning into deserts;
e. Improve soil quality by using native and hybrid soil nutrient fixing vegetation;
f. Promote rotational livestock grazing methods in pastures and rangelands, to
facilitate regeneration of grasses and other vegetation;
g. Ensure use of mixed herds of low maintenance, high production livestock for
increased efficiency and low ecosystem impact;
h. Designate alternative pastures and passages, in case of earlier or later than
usual weather change;
i. Improve the quality of rangelands by increasing native rangeland vegetation
and planting adapted forest species;
j. Implement appropriate rangeland management systems based on ecological
principles;
k. Revive rangelands and create artificial wetlands wherever secondary water
resources are available or rain harvesting is possible;
l. Using appropriate varieties of grass, increase grasslands in saline and
waterlogged zones to prevent their degradation;
m. Designate an appropriate provincial authority to exclusively oversee and
manage rangelands.

4.6.3. Arid and Hyper-Arid Areas

Desert dwellings and habitats in Pakistan are highly fragile and are likely to be
more vulnerable in the wake of climate change. These fragile arid and semi-arid
ecosystems are in urgent need of integrated conservation approaches for
adaptation to climate change. Areas with active desertification and soil
degradation in Pakistan are facing severe environmental problems. There is an
immediate need to design “Desertification Indicator Sets (DIS)” to harmonize an
information system that may help to organize socioeconomic and soil
information to identify climate change impacts and adaptation strategies. For
ecosystem maintenance, innovative crops and livestock management in arid and
hyper-arid areas in the light of impending climate change impact, the
Government of Pakistan shall take the following policy measures:

Policy Measures
a. Find a technological breakthrough for irrigation systems, to raise vegetative
cover in extremely difficult and harsh arid zone areas;
b. Ensure building of vegetative barriers for safeguarding against sandstorms
near human habitats;

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c. Encourage development of technological innovations for improved water
efficiency for crops, including artificial groundwater recharge;
d. Promote “low delta crops” and research on drought and pest resistant crops;
e. Discourage plantation of high water demanding trees except in waterlogged
areas;
f. Undertake development of drought resistant shrubs, fodder crops and grasses
for pastures and oases for livestock;
g. Encourage and promote the use of local and hybrid livestock species best
adapted to arid and desert ecosystems for minimal maintenance;
h. Develop technologically efficient equipment and procedures for the
rehabilitation of Karez irrigation systems including artificial recharge of
groundwater;
i. Promote sand dune stabilization and soil moisture conservation techniques;
j. Ensure sustainable harvesting of indigenous dry land tree species.

4.6.3. Coastal and Marine Ecosystems

Pakistan’s coast is home to the 7th largest mangrove forest of the world in Indus
delta. These forests have potential to sequester carbon 3 to 5 times higher than
the terrestrial forests. Being recognized for this potential, these ecosystems are
considered as a cost-effective nature-based solution to not only sequester carbon
but also provide resilience to the local community living near them from climate-
induced hazards and provide livelihood through sustaining marine biodiversity.
Therefore, to benefit from this mitigation and adaptation potential Pakistan
should protect these ecosystems from future degradation.

The Government of Pakistan, in December 2020, has launched a “Blue Carbon

Project” for making an accurate estimation of the potential carbon stock of
coastal ecosystem and mangroves.

On the other hand, coastal areas in Pakistan are exposed to a number of natural
hazards due to climate change. Tropical cyclones, severe storms, floods, shoreline
erosion and other hazards all affect our coastal areas, causing loss of life and
damage to property and infrastructure. Possible impacts of projected sea level
rise in Pakistan could be erosion of beaches, flooding and inundation of wetlands
and lowlands, salinization of groundwater and surface waters, and increased
intrusion of seawater into the Indus deltaic region (IDR) as well as the increased
risk of cyclones originating in the Arabian Sea. Similarly, in addition to the

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adverse impacts due to receipt of untreated domestic and industrial sewage in
shallow sea environment along coastal dwellings and industrial zones, the
Pakistan’s marine coastal ecosystems are likely to be severely impacted by
climate change: change in seawater temperature and acidification; cyclones;
relocation and movement of marine fish and mammals; and heat induced drying
of deltaic areas. To safeguard coastal areas and the marine ecosystem from likely
climate change impacts, the Government of Pakistan shall take the following
measures:

Policy Measures
a. Ensure building of natural barriers; plantation and regeneration of mangroves,
coastal palm and other trees suitable to the area to control sand and soil
erosion and to minimize the disastrous impacts of cyclones and tsunamis;
b. Construct barriers near low lying coastal human clusters to safeguard against
rising sea level and cyclones;
c. Develop salinity tolerant crop cultivars for coastal agriculture;
d. Maintain optimal river water flow for continuation of sediment and nutrient
transfer to the marine ecosystem and to reduce intrusion of saline sea water
into coastal regions;
e. Develop Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) system for coastal and marine
ecosystems to quantify benefits and improved management;
f. Reduce and control solid and liquid pollution and waste disposal in bay areas;
g. Assess potential climate change threats to the fishing sector and develop
appropriate adaptation measures including the promotion of aquaculture;
h. Maintain appropriate marine ecosystems and fish habitats for a healthy
fisheries sector;
i. Build capacities of local coastal communities and specifically the Fishermen
Cooeprative Societies to monitor and report changes in sea currents, sea
temperatures, and fish stock movement to help understand impacts of the
climate change;
j. Identify vulnerable coastal areas that should be protected from any
infrastructure construction or commercial activities and notify the level of
activities allowed in these areas;
k. Sustain tourism opportunities through well-designed marine management
that allows for sustained ecological, economic and social benefits;
l. Diversify livelihood opportunities for the local coastal communities to limit in-
land migrations.

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 4.6.4. Wetlands
Pakistan’s wetlands play an important role in maintaining and sustaining regional
ecological processes that support globally important biodiversity such as bird
migration routes and wintering grounds. A significant fraction of Pakistan’s
wetlands-dependent biodiversity, however, is classified as endemically
threatened and vulnerable. There has been a dramatic change in the ecosystem
of wetlands in Pakistan in the last ten years, affecting their ability to function as a
habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, and migratory birds.
Pakistan is presently working on an initiative “Recharge Pakistan”. This initiative
will build Pakistan’s resilience to climate change through cost-effective
‘Ecosystem-Based Adaptation’ for integrated flood risk management. This will
also increase water recharge through wetlands, promote climate-adapted
community based natural resources management and livelihoods and forge a
paradigm shift to scale up this approach.
To protect, sustain and enhance the wetlands in Pakistan, the Government, in
collaboration with the relevant entities, shall take the following policy measures:

Policy Measures:
a. Ensure conservation and management of high altitude wetlands;
b. Explore possibilities for designing and creating artificial wetlands at appropriate
spots of ecological concern;
c. Promote identification of the risks and impact of climate change on Pakistan’s
wetlands;
d. Recognize and enhance the role played by wetlands in natural disaster protection
and climate change mitigation;
e. Ensure the implementations of Ramsar Advisory Missions to Pakistan’s
recommendations;
f. Ensure control of and slow down the conversion of wetlands and their immediate
surroundings for agriculture and grazing purposes;
g. Ensure adequate water supply allowing ecologically necessary water flows to
estuaries, peat lands, rivers, streams and lake marshes, mudflats and inter-tidal
areas;
h. Develop adaptation mechanisms for wetlands and communities dependent on
wetlands that are threatened by climate change;
i. Ensure balanced harvesting of wetlands resources and grazing in these areas;
j. Ensure control of siltation of wetlands by reducing deforestation and felling of
timber in catchment areas;
k. Ensure setting up of scientific analysis systems to check water quality of the
wetlands;

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 l. Design adequate procedures to control organic and inorganic pollution of
wetlands, including flow of agricultural chemicals and pesticides into wetlands;
m. Ensure the design and implementation of sustainable, participatory
management plans for independent demonstration sites, each chosen to be
representative of a broad eco-region in Pakistan;
n. Devise strategies to involve local communities residing across specific wetland
zones to participate in matters and measures/procedures to maintain and uplift
the esthetics of the wetlands.

4.7. Disaster Preparedness

Climate change is likely to increase climate-related natural disasters with the projected
increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including floods,
droughts, cyclones, landslides triggered by heavy rains and urban flooding due to
congestion of storm drainage. Climate change projections are scenario based, and
hence have some degree of uncertainty. Nonetheless, there are strong indications
that in South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, climate change is intensifying the above-
mentioned hazards. Pakistan is already experiencing climate change impacts which are
too visible to ignore. Most disasters or hazards that lead to destruction cannot be
prevented; their impact however, can be minimized by adaptation and preparedness
measures. To address disaster management in the context of climate change in a
holistic manner, the Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with other relevant
entities, shall take the following measures:

Policy Measures
a. Allocate adequate financial and other resources to implement “National
Disaster Risk Management Framework” formulated by NDMA;
b. Ensure the implementation of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction’s
following priorities actions to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks:
(i) Understanding disaster risk; (ii) Strengthening disaster risk governance to
manage disaster risk; (iii) Investing in disaster reduction for resilience and; (iv)
Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response, and to "Build Back
Better" in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction;
c. Develop disaster management institutions, mechanisms and capacities that
are capable of addressing multiple hazards and raises the resilience, efficiency
and effectiveness of the whole system as outlined in National DRR Policy-
2013;

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d. Clearly define coordination mechanisms outlining the roles and
responsibilities of each concerned department during natural disasters;
e. Prefer and invest in cost-effective and no-regret ‘nature-based solutions’
(NBS) to disaster risk reduction in order to minimize our vulnerability to
future events;
f. Redesign and upgrade storm drainage capacity of major cities, especially
Karachi and Lahore, keeping in view the likely climate change related increase
in short duration intense rainfall events;
g. Strengthen early warning systems and develop communities’ evacuation plans
for vulnerable coastal and other areas against cyclones and sea storms;
h. Construct cyclone shelters in vulnerable coastal areas;
i. Redesign and construct disaster resilient hospitals, dispanceries as well as
multi-purpose school buildings to be used as safe shelters during natural
calamities;
j. Ensure community participation in early warning dissemination and disaster
risk reduction activities, particularly in developing evacuation plans;
k. Ensure that the elderly, children, disabled and women get particular priority
in evacuation strategies;
l. Set up appropriate mechanisms to monitor the development of glacial lakes
and develop evacuation strategies in case of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods
(GLOF) for vulnerable areas;
m. Undertake risk mapping for possible avalanches and landslides in vulnerable
mountain areas and take precautionary measures accordingly;
n. Undertake GIS mapping of all existing irrigation infrastructure especially flood
embankments for efficient monitoring and flood management;
o. Establish local flash flood forecasting and warning systems in vulnerable
mountainous areas;
p. Strengthen flood forecasting, drought monitoring and early warning systems
in the country;
q. Enhance capacities to address the impact of floods, flash floods, droughts and
so on by strengthening the relevant agencies;
r. Develop an ‘assessment and compensation mechanism’ including insurance
for loss and damage in the aftermath of disasters, and measures for
infrastructure and soil rehabilitation;
s. Develop a mix of strategies for flood management which may include use of
dams for managing flood peaks, retarding basins and providing escape
channels;

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 t. Undertake formulation and enforcement of “River Flood Plain” regulations
and laws;
u. Undertake dam break studies to analyze issues such as flood routing;
v. Ensure the required strengthening and enhancement of barrage capacity;
w. Undertake hydrological modeling and flood plain mapping/zoning of the Indus
River system against climate change scenarios to estimate various projected
flood levels;
x. Plan, design, construct and strengthen appropriate flood embankments,
dykes and protective bunds to protect flood plains in the light of likely flood
levels;
y. Ensure that infrastructure, including telecommunication, power, utilities and
transport are resilient to the impact of climate change, particularly to extreme
weather events.

4.8. Socioeconomic Measures

4.8.1. Poverty
Climate change poses a serious risk to poverty reduction efforts and threatens to
undo decades of development efforts. While climate change is a global
phenomenon, its negative impact is more severely felt by poor people and
underdeveloped countries. They are more vulnerable because of their high
dependence on natural resources, their limited technical capacity and insufficient
financial resources to cope with climatic extremes.

One of the objectives and goals of economic development planning in Pakistan is

poverty alleviation. With the onset of climate change the plight of the poor is
becoming even more miserable. Therefore, it is imperative to incorporate the
possible impact of climate change on communities living in deprivation and
poverty, into future developmental plans for Pakistan.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which replaced Millinium

Development Goals (MDGs), were adopted by all United Nations Member States
in 2015 as a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all
people enjoy peace and prosperity by [Link] 17 SDGs, which include SDG-13
relating to climate change, all are closely related and action in one area will affect
outcomes in others, and as such, the development must balance social, economic
and environmental sustainability.

24
SDG-13 is a dedicated goal towards combating climate change - Climate Action:
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. It includes several
targets that aim to minimize the climate change risks. Building resilience and
adaptive capacity to climate related disasters, improve education, awareness and
institutional capacity on Climate Change mitigation, adaptation, impact
reduction and early warning are its components. Whereas the ‘Goals’ of
eradicating poverty, improving food security, health and education are the key
aspects of human development.
During the current situation of pandemic COVID-19, the Ministry of Climate
Change launched Green Economic Stimulus which aims at promoting
environmental activities which can also have economic impacts. The Stimulus
would focus on creating livelihood opportunities for daily wagers in the forestry
and waste management sectors.

In Pakistan, with its rapidly increasing population, particularly among those below
the poverty line, renewed effort is needed to involve local communities in
population control programs and in managing natural resources as a part of
training and education towards economic well-being. To address the problems of
poor communities living in Pakistan’s urban areas and those living in the rural
areas practicing agriculture, in the context of climate change, the Government of
Pakistan shall take the following measures:

Policy Measures
a. Integrate the poverty-climate change nexus into economic policies and plans;
b. Ensure the implementation and expansion of national population planning
strategies and programs, as the population explosion is likely to significantly
exacerbate the impact of climate change;
c. Enhance general awareness of the problems of unchecked population growth
and the demands it places on natural resources;
d. Enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities to climate-related risks;
e. Strengthen community level climate change adaptation measures to prepare
communities for enhanced and efficient natural resources management;
f. Improve access of poor communities to appropriate technologies for crop
production, integrated pest management and credit facilities for agricultural
development;
g. Ensure that the development process is sustainable and caters to the needs
of the poor;

25
h. Strengthen the capacity of government institutions to implement coherent
and mutually supportive policies and action plans to achieve the SDGs
implementation in time and in ways that balance economic, social and
environmental goals;
i. Diversify livelihood opportunities for vulnerable communities to advance
socio-economic stability and cater for climate-induced migrations.

4.8.2. Gender
Climate change has differentiated drivers and impacts and is overall most likely to
affect poor and underprivileged regions, communities and people
disproportionately as they are marginalized, weak and more vulnerable and have
the least resources to adapt. In Pakistan, women are likely to be strongly affected
by climate change as the majority of rural women are engaged in the agriculture
and forest sector, which is highly climate sensitive. Climate change is expected to
increase the work of agriculture production and other subsistence activities such
as collecting fuel wood and water, putting extra pressure on women. Further,
women are found to be more vulnerable during extreme climate events and
disaster; this is in part due to gendered roles and division of labor, which often
put women at risk and exacerbates work burden in times of crisis, but also
because women tend to have far fewer assets and resources to cope and recover
from climatic and disaster events.

Pakistan fully recognizes that advancing gender equality is an important part of a

sustainable and resilient path for the whole population and that women are
powerful agents of change. It is therefore vital to ensure participation of women
and female gender experts in all policies, initiatives and decisions relating to
climate change. The Government of Pakistan is developing a national Climate
Change Gender Action Plan (ccGAP) as a tool to enhance knowledge and
capacities, identify gaps and enabling conditions, and build coordination and
actions to strengthen gender-responsive strategies and results to meet the
country’s climate change objectives. Pakistan’s Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDC) revisions also include a targeted plan and strategy for
incorporation of youth and women in greater climate action.

To address the gender aspects of vulnerability from climate change, the

Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with other relevant entities, shall take
the following policy measures:

Policy Measures

26
 a. Mainstream gender perspectives into climate change efforts at national and
regional levels;
b. Take steps to reduce the vulnerability of women from climate change
impacts, particularly in relation to their critical roles in rural areas in providing
water, food, energy and in livestock management;
c. Recognize and value women’s contribution in the usage and management of
natural resources and other activities impacted by climate change;
d. Undertake a comprehensive study of the gender-differentiated impacts of
climate change with particular focus on gender difference in capabilities to
cope with climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in Pakistan;
e. Develop gender-sensitive criteria and indicators related to adaptation and
vulnerability, as gender differences in this area are most crucial and most
visible;
f. Develop and implement climate change vulnerability-reduction measures that
focus particularly on women’s needs and empower women’s groups and
networks;
g. Incorporate an appropriate role for women into the decision-making process
on climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives;
h. Develop climate change adaptation measures on local and indigenous
knowledge particularly held by women;
i. Adopt rules under which it is mandatory for all Ministry of Climate Change
(MoCC) projects to take gender considerations into account;
j. Increase the understanding of gender roles and responsibilities through
applying a gender analysis to the project and programme planning cycle;
k. Include gender responsive budgets and resource allocation in all projects and
programmes;
l. Review and adjust relevant National Policies to make them gender sensitive;
m. Include gender and climate change into the school curriculum and in livestock
management;
n. Provide enabling opportunities for youth to play a role in climate action.

5. Climate Change Mitigation

Pakistan’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per-capita are low compared to
international standards. In 2017-18 Pakistan’s total GHG emissions were 490 million
tons of CO2 equivalent.

The Agriculture, Forestry & Land Use sector is the largest source of GHG emission in
Pakistan; it accounts for nearly 46% of these emissions and is followed by the energy
27
sector (45%), industrial processes (5%), emissions and waste (4%) (Source:National GHG
inventory 2017-18). As such, the most important targets for mitigation efforts focused
on reduction of GHG emissions are the energy and agriculture sectors. In the energy
sector, integration of climate change and energy policy objectives is particularly
important as today’s investment will “lock in” the infrastructure, fuel and technologies
to be used for decades to come. Similarly, the building and transport infrastructure put
in place today should meet the design needs of the future. Therefore, greater attention
must be paid to energy efficiency requirements in building codes and long-term
transport planning.

At a time when future emissions are set to grow rapidly, the country also offers a huge
potential for mitigation in almost all sectors of the economy. Based on economic
analysis, a reduction of up to 20% in the projected emission figures for 2030 would
require an investment of approximately USD 40 billion, calculated at current prices.
Similarly, a reduction of 15 % in GHG emissions amounts to USD 15.6 billion, whereas a
10 % reduction is calculated as USD 5.5 billion. Pakistan has clearly indicated in its
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) that the indicated mitigation potential can
be realized through international support in the form of financial grants, technical
assistance, technology transfer and capacity building under the ‘Common But
Differentiated Responsibilities’ (CBDR) principle of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Most recently the Prime Minister in his speech at the ‘UN Climate Ambition Summit’ in
December 2020 has set the direction of Pakistan’s pathway to decarbonising the
country’s economy. He declared that 60 percent of all energy produced in the country
by 2030 will be ‘clean and through renewable resources, thirty percent of all the
country’s vehicles will be electric vehicles and that Pakistan will no longer pursue coal
power plants. These broad pronouncements in addition to a “Ten Billion Tree Tsunami
Afforestation Initiative” can provide the country’s roadmap for decarbonisation and
achievement of NDCs goals.

5.1. Energy
Pakistan’s energy sector has, besides furnace oil, high reliance on natural gas (the fossil
fuel with the lowest carbon intensity), and low reliance on coal (fossil fuel with the
highest carbon intensity) in utter contrast to the patterns of primary energy
consumption and electricity generation worldwide. It is largely for this reason that the
CO2 emissions per unit of energy consumption in Pakistan are generally low.
To find solutions to meet current and future energy needs, a creative and sustainable
energy policy framework is necessary that may help in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. The recently launched Alternate & Renewable Energy ( ARE) Policy 2019 has
28
a vision of the development of an efficient, sustainable, secure, affordable, competitive
and environment friendly power system in the country. The change in energy mix,
development of renewable energy resources and an increased share of nuclear and
hydroelectric power provide an opportunity to reduce carbon emissions in Pakistan’s
energy sector. The Government of Pakistan shall take the following policy measures for
mitigating its GHG emissions:

Policy Measures
a. Give preferential status to the development and promotion of hydropower
generation as well as Alternate and Renewable Energy resources;
b. Ensure that the negative impact of hydropower projects on the environment
as well as local communities are properly assessed and addressed;
c. Ensure to create a conducive environment for the sustainable growth of the
Alternate and Renewable Energy (ARE) Sector in Pakistan as envisioned and
laid down in Alternate & Renewable Energy Policy-2019;
d. Promote the development of renewable energy resources and technologies
such as solar, wind, geothermal, off-shore renewables and bio-energy;
e. Promote futuristic building designs with solar panels for energy self
sufficiency, especially in public sector buildings;
f. Plan the necessary expansion of nuclear power for Pakistan’s energy security
while ensuring the highest safety standards;
g. Explore the possibility of obtaining technological know-how and its transfer
for installation of clean coal technologies such as Pressurized-Fluidized-Bed-
Combustion (PFBC) and Near-Zero Emission Technology (NZET);
h. Ensure that coal-fired power stations perform at high-efficiency level and are
designed in such a way that they can be easily retro-fitted for Carbon Dioxide
Capture and Storage (CCS);
i. Consider introducing carbon tax on the use of environmentally detrimental
energy generation from fossil fuels;
j. Promote and provide incentives for activities required for increasing the
energy-mix and switching to low-carbon fossil fuels, and develop indigenous
technology for CO2 Capture and Utilization and Storage (CCUS); Waste Heat
Recovery, Co-generation; Coal Bed Methane Capture; and Combined Cycle
Power Generation;
k. Give priority to the import of natural gas, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) over import of oil and coal, except for meeting

29
 specific fuel requirements, e.g. liquid fuel for transportation, cooking coal for
the steel industry;
l. Improve technical capacities and institutional arrangements of existing GHG
emissions data collection, data sharing and archiving system in the country;
m. Promote energy innovations including net metering, home solar installations,
smart grids etc. to promote Renewable energy adoption and development;
n. Promote and mobilize local and foreign investments in Renewable energy
markets by providing incentives and support mechanisms;
o. Promote off-grid renewable energy development in rural and remote areas by
providing regulatory frameworks.

5.2. Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation

Energy efficiency improvement, energy conservation and demand reduction provide
excellent and cost effective ways to ensure sufficient energy supply to achieve
economic development goals, reduce carbon emissions and achieve climate change
mitigation goals. The Government of Pakistan shall, therefore, take up the following
policy measures:

Policy Measures
a. Strive to conserve energy and improve energy efficiency in all energy using
devices and processes;
b. Examine the gradual introduction of “Green Fiscal Reforms” in different
sectors of the economy, including energy, water and waste/sewage, to
achieve the objectives of carbon emission reductions;
c. Promote energy efficiency and management activities that include new and
innovative energy efficiency methodologies and techniques in various sectors,
especially power generation, transport, industry, biomass, and waste ;
d. Conduct, support and incentivize energy audits for industry and businesses;
e. Introduce measures to promote sustainable energy consumption and
production
f. Incentivize projects in the field of energy efficiency and energy conservation;
g. Enact and enforce energy conservation legislation and audit standards;
h. Ensure high quality management of energy production and supply, including
reduction in transmission and distribution losses;
i. Improve energy efficiency in building by standardizing building and
construction codes and legislating/creating incentives for retrofitting,
maximum use of natural light, better insulation and use of energy efficient
lights, boilers, appliances and groundwater pumping units;

30
 j. Promote and gradually make it mandatory to specify the energy efficiency/
fuel consumption rates of energy using equipment and devices of common
use.

5.3. Transport
The transport sector has shown the highest emission growth rate of all sectors and
accounts for about a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions in Pakistan (source: National
GHG Inventory, 2017-18). Managing emissions in the transport sector is therefore
crucial for tackling climate change. What makes this task difficult is the fact that the
scope for technical improvement is limited, at least, in the short run and that transport
volumes are closely linked to economic growth. To meet this carbon emission reduction
challenge Pakistan has recently approved an ambitious National Electric Vehicles
Policy (NEVP)-2020, with targets and incentives aimed at seeing electric vehicles capture
30% of all the passenger vehicle and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030, and 90% by 2040.

Similarly, emissions from the aviation sector are also a matter of concern. Indeed,
aircraft emissions which are injected directly into the upper atmosphere are much more
harmful than similar emissions at the surface because of their longer residence time in
the upper troposphere. However, despite difficulties, some policy instruments are
available to reduce emissions in road and air transport. Hence, the Government of
Pakistan shall take the following policy measures:

Policy Measures
I Road Transport
a. Sensitize the public to the importance of proper vehicle maintenance for fuel
efficiency enhancement and reduction of emissions;
b. Ensure the provision of a fuel efficient public transport system in the country;
c. Set up and strictly enforce vehicle emission standards;
d. Promote the development and adaptation of electric vehicles envisioned in
Electric Vehicle Policy-2020 by providing incentives and by developing
necessary infrastructure;
e. Examine and implement actions required for the use of bio-fuel for local
transport;
f. Plan and develop mass transit systems in metropolitan cities;
g. Support the private transport sector by providing incentives for reducing
emissions and environmentally friendly transport services;
h. Promote the development and adoption of environmentally friendly transport
technologies and efficient management techniques;
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 i. Promote greater use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in the transport sector
to the extent consistent with the availability of CNG in the market;
j. Secure financing for technology innovations for urban planning and the
transport sector, specifically to address mitigation issues;
k. Promote the development and installation of new pipelines for efficient
transport of oil in the country;
l. Improve walking pathways for padestrians alongside roads with proper traffic
signboards to encourage non-motorized modes of travel;
m. Encourage non-motorized modes of travel, such as bicycle and walking for
shorter distances.
II Aviation
a. Encourage the national airline to give due consideration to new fuel efficient
aircrafts, causing minimum carbon emissions, while planning fleet up-
gradation;
b. Support the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO’s) initiative for
carbon emission reduction through improved air traffic management, which
includes improved weather services and free flight air routes, instead of
defined routes, that hold the potential for reduced flight time and thus fuel
consumption;
c. Participate actively in ICAO’s activities and initiatives and ensure that new
strategies and policies of ICAO do not hurt the economic interests of
developing countries’ aviation industries.
III Railway
a. Ensure the provision of an efficient railway system in the country;
b. Upgrade and expand the railway network in the country, as the advantages of
railway over road travel in terms of carbon emissions are well recognized.

IV Inland Waterways Transport

Develop and promote inland waterways transportation.

5.4. Urban Planning & Waste Management

Climate change presents a range of socioeconomic implications for urban planning on
two counts. One, urban planning is a process by which adaptation to climate change
impacts is possible in urban areas. Two, urban planning influences the level of emissions
produced by human settlements by changing fuel and energy consumption patterns. To
adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change, there is a need to introduce changes
in urban planning and building systems. On 12th July 2021 the Prime Minister launched
an urban forestation drive, which can make our cities worth living.
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Further, increasing populations and urbanisation, are making a major challenge for
municipalities to collect, recycle, treat and dispose of increasing quantities of solid
waste and wastewater. However, for sustainable development the establishment of
affordable, effective and truly sustainable waste management practices are a major
challange.

The Government of Pakistan launched Clean Green Pakistan Movement (CGPM) in

November 2019 and the Clean Green Pakistan Index (CGPI) is its core pillar. This is a
city/tehsil and neighborhood-level index which aims to rank them according to their
cleanliness and greenery. The CGPI performance indicators include safe drinking water,
solid waste management, liquid waste management/hygiene, plantation, and total
sanitation. The Government of Pakistan, in this regard, shall assist provincial
governments to take the following measures:

Policy Measures
a. Promote the use of digitalization as a tool for climate change adaptation and
sustainable development in urban centers;
b. Mainstream Sustainable Consumption and Production National Action Plan
(SCP-NAP) implementation at provincial level for achieving sustainable city
goals;
c. Make installation of wastewater treatment plants as an integral part of all
urban sewerage schemes;
d. Adopt integrated waste management, treatment, and disposal systems for all
types of waste, while assigning priority to solid waste management;
e. Adopt separate collection, disposal and re-use of recyclable, composite and
biodegradable waste, preferably at source;
f. Develop and implement plastic waste management tools such as reduce,
reuse, recycle, and encourage eco-packing and substitutes for plastic;
g. Update town planning design principles for lower carbon footprints;
h. Encourage and incentivize private sector for designing zero emission buildings
through renewable energy technology;
i. Curb rural-to-urban migration, develop infrastructure and support facilities in
smaller agro-based towns and periphery urban areas;
j. Ensure proper “Land Use Planning” and encourage vertical instead of
horizontal expansion of urban housing projects;
k. Conduct comprehensive climate risk & vulnerability assessment at district
level;
l. Undertake hazard mapping and zoning of areas before construction;

33
 m. Ensure that rural housing, particularly reconstruction following flood damages
is climate resilient;
n. Ensure that in large urban areas industries are located in the designated
areas;
o. Make installation of solar water heaters mandatory in commercial and public
buildings where water heating is necessary;
p. Encourage and support communities participation in recently launched urban
forestation drive to ensure its success;
q. Raise awareness of public on hazards of single-use plastic to instigate
behavior change.

5.5. Industries
The major industries in Pakistan include textiles, fertilizer, sugar factories, cement,
steel and large petro-chemical plants. These industries, among others, contribute more
than 5% to the total GHG emissions of the country due to the industrial processes in
use, in addition to being responsible for more than a quarter of the emissions
attributed to the energy sector. The Government of Pakistan shall take the following
measures to play its role in reducing these emissions in the long-term:

Policy Measures
a. Incorporate economic incentives to promote emission-reduction by upgrading
industrial processes and technologies;
b. Prepare voluntary “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) guidelines and
encourage the corporate sector to create a CSR fund to cover carbon emission
reduction efforts in industrial sector;
c. Detailed aerosol emission impact assessment studied must be made a
requirement prior to the installation of any new small and large industry that
may be considered a potential source of pollution;
d. Promote integration of the “Cleaner Production” strategy in the Industrial
sector by making more efficient use of inputs such as energy, water and raw
materials;
e. Promote the use of energy efficient motors in the industrial sector;
f. Encourage the industrial sector to have periodic “Energy Efficiency Audits”;
g. Develop capacity to monitor and estimate emissions locally for each industry;
h. Ensure that technology transfer is accelerated for industries like cement
manufacturing, to control emissions without hampering the production
process;

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 i. Explore and introduce incentives for industries to adopt low-emission
technologies e.g. dual-functional materials for Carbon capture, utilization, and
storage (CCUS);
j. Legislate opportunities for industry to facilitate transition to circular economy
model and boost the market demand for recycled products.

5.6. Agriculture and Livestock

The agriculture and livestock sectors accounted for about 40% of Pakistan’s total
GHG emissions in 2017-18. These emissions were largely methane (CH4) and
nitrous oxide (N2O), and originated mainly from four sub-sectors: 1) enteric
fermentation in cattle (all in the form of methane); 2) rice cultivation; 3) release of
nitrous oxide from agricultural soils/ nitrous fertilizer; and 4) manure
management.
During 1994-2015 GHG emissions from agriculture and livestock in Pakistan grew
at the rate of about 4% per annum (Source: National GHG inventory 2017-18).
There is a pressing need to find ways to contain these emissions or at least slow
down their growth rate. This will require technological innovations and financial
resources, for which Pakistan will need the support of the International
community. To mitigate and minimize GHG emissions from the agriculture and
livestock sectors, the Government of Pakistan shall take the following policy
measures:
Policy Measures
a. Promote integration of indigenous knowledge and the latest technology with
scientific research to spearhead efforts towards an ecologically sustainable
green revolution;
b. Promote wide-scale adaptation of better management practices for
agriculture and livestock with a reduction in the use of chemical fertilizer,
water and pesticides;
c. Explore methods to reduce nitrous oxide release from agricultural soils, e.g.
by changing the mix of chemical fertilizers commonly used;
d. Promote use of green manure, better manure storage and management;
e. Promote development of biogas and manure digester for methane reduction
and energy production through GCF support;
f. Develop and adopt new breeds of cattle which are more productive in terms
of milk and meat, and have lower methane production from enteric
fermentation;
g. Encourage farmers to use appropriate feed mixes and additives to reduce
methane production from enteric fermentation/ digestion in cattle;

35
 h. Manage water in rice paddies to control releases of methane from agricultural
soils and introduce low water dependent rice varieties;
k. Promote no till farming for methane abatement;
l. Promote cultivation of crops used for bio-fuel production, to the extent
feasible without threatening the country’s food security;
m. Develop capacities of the relevant institutions to undertake appropriate
mitigation actions to reduce GHG emissions from the agriculture and livestock
sectors.

5.6. Carbon Sequestration and Forestry

Mitigation of climate change is a global responsibility. As outlined in the TFCC report,
Pakistan’s Forestry and Other Land Uses sector contributes about 5% to the total GHG
emissions of the country, considerable mitigation potential exists in the sector through
carbon sequestration via afforestation and reforestation measures as well as
preventing deforestation in Pakistan.

The Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with national entities and support from
multilateral agencies, shall take the following measures in the forestry sector to
sequester atmospheric carbon, thereby mitigating climate change.

Policy Measures
a. Enhance natural carbon sinks by afforestation, reforestation and protecting
natural systems, including rehabilitation of degraded areas that contribute to
carbon sequestration;
b. Devise a strategy to avoid carbon dioxide emission from planned mangrove
plantation drives under ‘Ten Billion Tree Tsunami’ (TBTT) and Reducing
Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+);
c. Quantify carbon stocks in existing forests with specific focus on recovered and
protected forests to identify the monetary values of these ecosystems
d. Strictly prohibit illegal forest cutting and conversion of forest land to non-
forest uses;
e. Enact and enforce laws and regulations required for addressing illegal trade in
timber and deforestation.
f. Use the vast mass of cultivable wasteland as a carbon sink and to build up
organic soil matter;
g. Provide incentives and alternative fuel and livelihood options to forest
dependent communities to prevent deforestation;

36
 h. Promote farm forestry practices by planting multipurpose fast-growing
species to meet the needs for timber, fuel wood and fodder for livestock;
i. Encourage and support forestry personnel in carbon forestry project
development;
j. Establish linkages with regulated and voluntary carbon markets to promote
and encourage forestry mitigation projects in Pakistan;
k. Secure financial assistance from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership
Facility (FCPF) and UN-REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and
Forest Degradation) program as well as from other international sources to
formulate a national program for avoiding deforestation and promoting forest
restoration;
l. Prepare the framework for a national REDD strategy on priority basis and
ensure its implementation in accordance with international conventions/
processes;
m. Develop the legal and institutional framework for improved forest
management, investment clearly specifying rights to REDD+ credits;
n. Restore and establish the blue carbon sequestration capacity of mangroves,
and tidal marshes.

6. Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening

Expertise to address climate change is meager in the country. Pakistan is hardly
prepared to meet the 21st century’s biggest challenge of climate change as far as human
resources and institutional capacities are concerned. Insufficient trained human
resource is a big constraint, in part, due to a brain drain, limited investment in climate
change education, and lack of demand and opportunity for skilled individuals in
Pakistan. The country does not have enough climate change scientists, modelers,
technologists and experts who can handle international negotiations, which are critical
for every country. Similarly, there are lack of credible institutions in Pakistan to deal
with comprehensive climate change science, modeling, management, adaptation,
mitigation, and policy issues. Since capacity building and institutional strengthening is a
priority area for the government, as such one of the recent key development is the
passage of Pakistan Climate Change Act-2017 under which Pakistan Climate Change
Council headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan has been established. It also envisages
establishment of a high- powered Pakistan Climate Change Authority and Pakistan
Climate Change Fund. The Fund will mobilize resources from both domestic and
international sources for providing finances to support mitigation and adaptation
initiatives in the country. Recently the Prime Minister has also constituted a Prime
Minister’s Committee on Climate Change.

37
Further, a number of area specific policy measures are mentioned in relevant sections
and will generally not be repeated here. However to address the deficiencies in climate
change related requirements, human resources and institutions, the Government of
Pakistan shall take the following measures:

Policy Measures
I Institutional Mechanisms
a. Establish Climate Change Cells in sectoral federal and provincial ministries;
b. Ensure that actions envisaged in CC Act-2017 regarding the establishment of
Climate Change Council, CC Fund and CC Authority are functional at the
earliest;
c. Create an enabling environment for private sector engagement in CC
adaptation and mitigation activities that will catalyze greater and more
frequent investments at a lower cost and will also accelerate the replication
of climate-resilient technologies and approaches in core development sectors;
d. Develop and enforce rules under which climate change assessment is
mandatory for all development project’s approval, where federal funding is
involved;
e. Develop and strengthen a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV)
system for evaluation of emission reductions and change in land systems, in
order to make full use of the UNFCCC REDD+ facility;
f. Improve inter-ministerial and inter-departmental decision-making and
coordination mechanisms on climate change issues both at provincial and
federal levels to develop Pakistan’s stand on various international policy
issues relating to climate change;
g. Strengthen the national institutional framework for undertaking tasks related
to the implementation of UNFCCC programmes;
h. Ensure the integration of climate change and overall developmental
imperatives, and that climate change and socioeconomic development are
pursued as inseparable objectives;
i. Ensure that agriculture, water, forest, energy, health, biodiversity, and DRR
related vulnerabilities induced by climate change get duly integrated and
addressed in the relevant national policy documents;
j. Take necessary measures to redesign administrative structures and
procedures of Federal and Provincial EPAs and Planning and Development
Division to integrate climate change concerns into Initial Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) processes;

38
k. Strengthen the carbon market initiative through National Committee on
Establishment of Carbon Markets and interim secretariat housed in MoCC for
Indigenous design of the carbon market in Pakistan;
l. Ensure that IEE/EIA and other mechanisms are strictly observed in all
development projects, particularly infrastructure projects, by the concerned
agencies;
m. Identify national institutional needs to develop the capacity for carbon
trading;
n. Create National and Provincial Implementing Entities (NIE & PIE) to deal with
adaptation and mitigation projects at federal and provincial levels
respectively;
II Capacity Enhancement
a. Develop climate change professionals by sending young scientists and
students to reputable institutions abroad for higher studies;
b. Strengthen national climate change science related institutions, in particular
the Global Change Impact Studies Centre (GCISC) and universities, in terms of
necessary financial and technical support;
c. Develop/introduce curriculum on climate change and environmental planning
with particular emphasis on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and introduce it
into the formal education system at all levels, particularly into the higher
education system;
d. Ensure institutional strengthening of the existing Climate Change Section,
Climate Finance Unit, CC Reporting Unit, Climate Resilient Urban Settlement
Unit, Environmental Health Unit and other relevant institutions dealing with
Climate Change and REDD+ matters;
e. Develop knowledge based management (KBM) and networking with strategic
climate change research establishments to ensure benefits from international
scientific advancements;
f. Provide training and support, at national and international levels, to the
concerned officials and experts of line ministries and departments to further
enhance their knowledge and capacities on climate change issues;
g. Explore and provide training opportunities to enhance capacity for preparing
projects and programs in the climate change area;
h. Develop national capacity to gauge the quantum and nature of climate
change in Pakistan for reliable climate change vulnerability assessments in
various sectors, particularly water and agriculture;
i. Enhance disaster mitigation and preparedness capacities at federal, provincial
and district levels;

39
 j. Enhance capacity to undertake comprehensive assessments of the economic
implications of climate change impacts on various sectors with and without
using different adaptation measures;
k. Strengthen institutional capacities to ensure regular updates of GHG
inventories;
l. Develop an institutionalized system to measure and monitor GHG emissions
from various sectors including trans-boundary pollution and maintain a
database on this;
m. Expand and upgrade meteorological services and monitoring stations in
various parts of the country, particularly in the northern mountainous areas,
glacial regions feeding IRS and over the Arabian Sea adjoining Pakistan’s
coastline, to the level recommended by the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO);
n. Actively participate in new international initiatives to create a Global
Framework for Climate Services (GFCS);
o. Ensure capacity development for making reliable projections of climate
changes scenarios, seasonal forecasts and inter-annual forecasts for different
parts of Pakistan;
p. Promote the use of GIS/RS based studies to assess and quantify past temporal
trends and monitor future changes in snow cover, glacial volume, glacial lake
formation and burst, deforestation, land degradation (salinity, water logging),
soil erosion, inundation of Indus deltaic region and other coastal areas;
q. Undertake scientific studies to preserve glaciers and explore grafting
techniques;
r. Strengthen the country’s tropical cyclone monitoring and prediction system;
s. Establish a national clearing-house for regularly updated climate change
related data sharing and networking;
t. Build domestic response capacity in order to use current and future funds
effectively.

7. Awareness Raising
Public education and outreach are vitally important to create broad awareness of
climate change issues and its impact. As such the importance of communicating with the
general public and engaging stakeholders in climate change related issues is fully
recognized by Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan is putting up a lot of emphasis on
reducing the depletion of country’s “natural capital” - the services that nature provides,
including freshwater, forests and biodiversity etc- as these assets are significantly
important for achieving poverty reduction and sustainable development goals.

40
The Government, both in collaboration with the private sector and independently, is
already working actively to raise awareness about the issue. The scale of the change
required, however, and the vast number of people and interests that must be
influenced, calls for outreach activities of a much greater magnitude. Therefore, the
Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with the relevant entities, shall take the
following measures:

Policy Measures
a. Conduct nationwide surveys to gauge the opinions and capabilities of key
stakeholders and other potential partners;
b. Develop a national climate change awareness program involving
communities, as well as climate change relevant ministries and departments;
c. Ensure advocacy and mass awareness regarding the importance of water and
energy conservation, the impact of climate change on various sectors
including forest ecosystems, biodiversity and so on, using mass media, public-
private partnerships, students and community mobilization; and incorporate
these issues into the formal education systems at all levels;
d. Public awareness regarding aerosol pollution must be carried out as part of
environmental education program in Pakistan;
e. Arrange climate change sensitization workshops for policy makers at national
and provincial levels;
f. Ensure that all understand the value of country’s “natural capital” and try to
reduce their depletion;
g. Raise awareness of local communities on protecting the forests and
sustainable management.
h. Create awareness of the corporate sector on sustainable development and
carbon markets;

8. International and Regional Cooperation

Climate change is a global concern and its adverse impacts are affecting most
developing countries. The Paris Climate Agreement-2015 is globally seen as a landmark
development, whose central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat
of climate change by limiting the global temperature rise this century well below 2
degrees Celsius by reducing GHG emissions. After the Agreement, all the countries have
submitted their plans to implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to
cut GHG emissions.

Developing countries face the dual challenge of addressing the negative impacts of
climate change and pursuing socioeconomic development. Hence, it is essential that
41
they work together to face these challenges. Pakistan is committed to engaging
vigorously with the international community to find solutions and help the world
towards a new era of global cooperation on climate change. South Asia is particularly
prone to climate change and related disasters making the need for a regional response
to meet the challenge of climate change more urgent and compelling. In order to
achieve this international and regional cooperation, the Government of Pakistan shall
take the following measures:

Policy Measures
a. Undertake appropriate consultations to develop Pakistan’s stand on climate
change related international policy issues;
b. Ensure continued attendance and presentation of Pakistan’s stand at the
UNFCCC Conference of Parties and other related meetings;
c. Promote mechanisms for strengthening and raising the institutional, systemic
and individual capacity-building to implement CC adaptation, mitigation,
technology transfer, and development actions to achieve SDG-13 Climate
Action and related SDGs;
d. Support exchange of meteorological data, including that obtained from high
altitude monitoring stations;
e. Develop strong institutional linkages with UNFCCC, UNEP, IPCC, WMO,
UNESCO and others;
f. Pakistan should wholeheartedly support the international efforts agreed
in the Paris Climate Agreement;
g. Facilitate exchange of real time hydrological data in the region for improved
flood forecasting and warning services;
h. Work with countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan and other mountainous
countries to take initiatives on mountain ecosystems, particularly glaciers and
their contribution to sustainable development and livelihoods, and to
highlight the region’s vulnerability to climate change;
i. Encourage exchange of results from simulation modeling experiments for
inter-annual and decadal climatic projections, seasonal forecasts, and
predictions of climate extremes in the region;
j. Provide support to strengthen the WMO-UNESCAP sponsored
Intergovernmental Panel on Tropical Cyclones in the Arabian Sea and Bay of
Bengal for improved monitoring of and forecasting tropical cyclones;
k. Help establish institutional linkages among national institutions in the South
Asian region to facilitate sharing of knowledge, information and capacity
building programs in climate change related areas and jointly tackiling the
transboundary water , airquality and pandemic concerns (locust, covid etc);
42
 l. Support the establishment of a SAARC Climate Change Research Centre,
preferably in Pakistan in close proximity to the Global Change Impact Studies
Centre (GCISC);
m. Seek establishment of a regional Intergovernmental Expert Group on Climate
Change to develop clear policy direction and guidance for regional
cooperation as envisaged in the SAARC Plan of Action on Climate Change;
n. Encourage relevant SAARC centers to undertake studies on the evolving
pattern of monsoons to assess vulnerability due to climate change and
integrate Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) with Disaster Risk Reduction
(DRR);
o. Undertake, together with other South Asian countries, advocacy and
awareness programs on climate change, among others, to promote the use of
green technology and best practices for transition to low-carbon sustainable
and inclusive development in the region;
p. Explore international and regional linkages for resource mobilization to help
build gender-sensitive responses;
q. Promote student exchange programs among SAARC universities, particularly
in the climate change discipline.

9. Finance
Pakistan is signatory to major environmental conventions and protocols. As a signatory
to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and a
member state of the World Bank, Pakistan qualifies for financial and technological
assistance. In the UNFCCC Cancun conference, developed countries committed to
creating a sizeable “Green Climate Fund” with fast start finance. To secure an
appropriate share from this initiative, expected to be available in the near future, a
country needs to create an enabling environment that can facilitate and attract this
funding.

While the transition to a low carbon economy, whilst sustaining the development of the
economy, requires a cost-effective policy solution and carbon pricing was identified as a
base for carbon markets, so that countries can smoothly take up transition to a low
carbon economy cost-effectively. In recognition of global adoption of Carbon Pricing
Instruments (CPIs) to curb GHG emissions, Pakistan initiated a study on the
“Introduction of (CPI) in Pakistan” in 2019 with an aim to assess and recommend a set of
options for the introduction of carbon pricing instruments in Pakistan.

43
In order to benefit from future international financial mechanisms and to help Pakistan
adopt CPI to meet the mitigation targets, the Government of Pakistan shall take the
following measures related to options for a future international financing mechanism:

Policy Measures
a. Ensure that the sufficient fund are always available in recently established
National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) to caters emergencies
caused by natural disasters and for implementing the programmes and
projects to reduce the risks from natural disasters;
b. Continue to assess how best to position Pakistan vis-a-vis other groups of
developing countries in order to secure adaptation funding;
c. Ensure the access and effective use of opportunities available internationally
for adaptation and mitigation efforts, e.g. through the Green Climate Fund
(GCF), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Adaptation Fund (AF), Global
Environmental Facility (GEF), World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility
(FCPF) and Carbon credit trading ;
d. Establish a “Pakistan Climate Change Fund” for financing climate change
related projects;
e. Continue to push for transparent delivery of new and additional fast start
funding by developed countries;
f. Develop public-corporate-civil society partnerships for financing and
implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation projects;
g. Create domestic carbon market opportunities by introducing an appropriate
investment framework linked with regional banking institutions;
h. Explore the innovative private finance schemes, such as green bonds/blue
bonds etc;
i. Engage provinces to set-up the carbon pricing architecture;
j. Set-up the legal and regulatory instruments to operationalize the Emission
Trading System (ETS).

10. Technology Transfer

Climate change, being one of the most difficult and complex threats the world faces,
needs innovative technological solutions to solve the climate change challenges of both
mitigation and adaptation. The UNFCCC Cancun conference agreed to set up a special
“Technology Mechanism” for the development and transfer of new technologies from
developed to developing countries. This mechanism named ‘Climate Technology Centre
and Network’ (CTCN) is a body mandated by the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to assist developing countries in spreading

44
environmentally sound technologies to address climate change challenges. As such to
find the technological solutions to the climate change challenges in Pakistan, the
Government shall take the following policy measures:

Policy Measures
a. Ensure that the technology needs to support actions on mitigation and
adaptation are nationally determined and are based on national priorities;
b. Promote the development and use of local technologies, based on innovation
and technological advancement in the field of climate change, as an effective
way to implement adaptation and mitigation measures;
c. Prepare detailed area analysis for possible wind and solar energy sites in
Pakistan, and establish regional partnerships for technology transfer and
development;
d. Seek technological breakthroughs to harness the potential of geothermal
energy in the northern mountain areas off-shore renewable energy at coastal
areas of Pakistan;
e. Explore new technological breakthroughs in the field of bio-fuels;
f. Obtain and introduce clean coal technologies;
g. Ensure technology transfer for the design and manufacture of emission
monitoring equipment, to be installed near urban and industrial areas in
Pakistan;
h. Establish a base for technology transfer and absorption at technical institutes,
engineering colleges and universities;
i. Ensure transfer of technology for designing electric/ hybrid vehicles in
Pakistan;
j. Develop new breeds of crops and livestock, which are less vulnerable to
climate change impacts;
k. Promote public private partnerships for technological innovations and
technology upscaling.

11. Policy Implementation Mechanism

Following the adoption of updated National Climate Change Policy, the Federal
Government shall assist the provinces to develop their “Action Plans”. All relevant
ministries, departments and agencies shall also devise plans and programs to implement
the policy provisions relating to their respective sectors/sub-sectors. Similarly, the
provincial governments, AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan and local governments shall also devise
their own strategies, plans and programs for implementation of the Policy. To ensure
effective Policy implementation and to oversee progress in this regard, “Climate Change

45
Policy Implementation Committees” shall be established at the federal and provincial
levels. One of the tasks of these committees shall be regular monitoring and updating of
the National Climate Change Policy at five year intervals. The composition of the
committee is as under:

I. National Climate Change Policy Implementation Committee

1. Minister of Climate Change at the Federal Level (Chair)
2. Secretaries of Ministries responsible for Climate Change/ Planning and
Development / Foreign Affairs/ Science and Technology/ Industries and
Production/Finance/ Water Resources, Energy, / Food Security and Research /
Health Services / Defense;
3. Member Infrastructure PC/Additional Chief Secretaries Provincial Planning and
Development Departments;
4. Chairman NDMA/ Federal Flood Commission;
5. Secretaries of Provincial/ AJK/GB Environment Departments;
6. Heads of PMD/ GCISC/ Pak EPA/ENERCON
7. Chief Environment, Planning and Development Division;
8. Three representatives from the corporate sector/ Chambers of Commerce and
Industries;
9. Three eminent experts from the field;
10. Three representatives from civil society organizations;
11. Director General (Climate Change) Member/ Secretary.

II. Provincial Climate Change Policy Implementation Committee

1. Provincial Minister for Environment (Chairperson)
2. Chairman/Additional Chief Secretaries Planning and Development
Department;
3. Secretaries Environment/Agriculture/Forest/Irrigation/Local Government/
Public Health Departments;
4. DGs PDMAs
5. Three representatives from corporate sector/Chambers of Commerce and
industries;
6. Three representatives from Civil Society Organizations;
7. Three eminent experts from the field;
8. Director General Environmental Protection Agency, member/ Secretary.

The “National and Provincial Climate Change Policy Implementation Committees”

shall meet biannually. The Provincial Committees, which will be the key actors in
46
implementation of the proposed climate change agenda, shall report the status
of implementation of the Policy to the National Committee. The National
Committee shall report to the “Prime Minister’s Committee on Climate Change”
on a regular basis.

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