ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will play an active role in global efforts against climate change, President Asif Ali Zardari vowed on Monday as the world marks International Day of Clean Energy today. 

The International Day of Clean Energy is marked every year on Jan. 26 during which governments and civil societies around the world call for awareness on climate change impacts and demand action for a just and inclusive transition to clean energy for the benefit of the people.

Burdened by an energy crisis that has resulted in costly fuel imports over the past couple of years, Pakistan has sought to shift to clean energy to place less burden on its fragile economy. The South Asian country has emerged as one of the world’s fastest growing solar markets, with 12 gigawatts (GWs) of off-grid and over 6GWs of net-metered solar capacity by the end of 2025. In the last fiscal year, renewables accounted for a historic 53 percent of total electricity generation, according to the prime minister’s coordinator on climate change, Romina Khurshid Alam. 

“Pakistan will play an active role in global efforts against climate change,” Zardari was quoted in a statement released by his office. “Investment in safe technologies is essential for the protection of the planet.”
Zardari stressed that clean energy is essential for inclusive development, noting that Pakistan has made the transition toward it a “national priority.”

He said clean energy occupies a central place in the government’s policy framework, adding that Pakistan has set a target of electric vehicles comprising 30 percent of all passenger vehicles and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030. 

The Pakistani president cited air pollution as a major challenge to public health in the country, noting its social and economic costs for the government and the people. 

“Pakistan is committed to building a reliable and sustainable energy system,” he said. 

Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns that have led to frequent heatwaves, untimely rains, storms, cyclones, floods and droughts in recent years. 

In 2022, monsoon floods killed over 1,700 people, displaced another 33 million and caused over $30 billion losses. Over 1,000 people were killed in floods last year as well due to torrential monsoon rains and floods triggered by climate change impacts and excess water released by Indian dams.