ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam on Sunday unveiled the country’s first National Carbon Market Policy, saying that the government wanted to attract investments in green initiatives and transition toward a low-carbon economy.
Carbon markets refer to systems that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by allowing companies or organizations to buy and sell “carbon credits.” This is achieved by offering financial incentives to these entities to cut emissions.
Pakistan is ranked the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. In 2022, devastating floods killed over 1,700 people and affected over 33 million, with economic losses exceeding $30 billion. International donors pledged over $9 billion last January to aid Pakistan’s flood recovery but officials say little of the promised funds have been received so far.
“Let me say this confidently that Pakistan is now ready to lead, innovate and collaborate with local private sector as well as international partners for the development of carbon markets to attract investments in green initiatives for achieving climate goals under the Paris climate pact,” Alam said in a statement.
Alam was attending an event held at the Pakistan Pavilion in Baku, during the sidelines of the global COP29 climate conference, to launch the country’s first carbon market policy. The event was attended by members of international civil society organizations, delegation members of different countries, academia, researchers, policymakers and journalists.
“By participating in such markets, Pakistan can incentivize businesses and industries to adopt cleaner technologies and practices,” she said.
Alam said the success of Pakistan’s carbon markets will depend on its ability to collaborate with international partners.
“We welcome partnerships with international investors, organizations, and governments to ensure that this market becomes a regional and global success story,” she said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who spoke at a number of events at COP29 earlier this week, used the forum to highlight the need to restore confidence in the pledging process and increase climate finance for vulnerable, developing countries.
The main task for nearly 200 countries at the COP29 summit from Nov. 11-22 is to broker a deal that ensures up to trillions of dollars in financing for climate projects worldwide.
Pakistan unveils first Carbon Market Policy to attract green investment, curb pollution
https://arab.news/zxsc8
Pakistan unveils first Carbon Market Policy to attract green investment, curb pollution
- Pakistan wants to transition toward a low-carbon economy, says PM’s coordinator on climate change
- Carbon markets refer to systems that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by offering financial incentives
Imran Khan not a ‘national security threat,’ ex-PM’s party responds to Pakistan military
- Pakistan’s military spokesperson on Friday described Khan’s anti-army narrative as a “national security threat”
- PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan says words used by military spokesperson for Khan were “not appropriate”
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Saturday responded to allegations by Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry from a day earlier, saying that he was not a “national security threat.”
Chaudhry, who heads the military’s media wing as director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), spoke to journalists on Friday, in which he referred to Khan as a “mentally ill” person several times during the press interaction. Chaudhry described Khan’s anti-army narrative as a “national security threat.”
The military spokesperson was responding to Khan’s social media post this week in which he accused Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir of being responsible for “the complete collapse of the constitution and rule of law in Pakistan.”
“The people of Pakistan stand with Imran Khan, they stand with PTI,” the party’s secretary-general, Salman Akram Raja, told reporters during a news conference.
“Imran Khan is not a national security threat. Imran Khan has kept the people of this country united.”
Raja said there were several narratives in the country, including those that created tensions along ethnic and sectarian lines, but Khan had rejected all of them and stood with one that the people of Pakistan supported.
PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan, flanked by Raja, criticized the military spokesperson as well, saying his press talk on Thursday had “severely disappointed” him.
“The words that were used [by the military spokesperson] were not appropriate,” Gohar said. “Those words were wrong.”
‘NATURAL OUTCOME’
Speaking to reporters earlier on Saturday, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif defended the military spokesperson’s remarks against Khan.
“When this kind of language is used for individuals as well as for institutions, then a reaction is a natural outcome,” he said.
“The same thing is happening on the Twitter accounts being run in his [Khan’s] name. If the DG ISPR has given any reaction to it, then I believe it was a very measured reaction.”
Khan, who was ousted after a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022, blames the country’s powerful military for removing him from power by colluding with his political opponents. Both deny the allegations.
The former prime minister, who has been in prison since August 2023 on a slew of charges he says are politically motivated, also alleges his party was denied victory by the army and his political rivals in the 2024 general election through rigging.
The army and the government both deny his allegations.
