Finance minister calls for swift implementation of climate-resilient policies
Pakistan
Pakistan was one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change
ISLAMABAD (APP) – Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday stressed the need to adopt policies framed to address climate change-related issues on a fast-track basis, moving beyond ‘policy prescriptions.’
“There is no dearth of policy prescriptions; it is all about how and who. I sincerely hope this two-day conference will address the operationalization issues,” he said speaking at the international climate change conference titled “Breathe Pakistan.”
He said Pakistan was one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and urgently needed to address its mitigation efforts. However, he noted that the real and bigger issue was the adaptation of policies in both letter and spirit.
The minister referenced the existing National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and the National Climate Finance Strategy (NCFS) that Pakistan announced in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024.
The launch of the strategy took place at the UN-led global climate conference, COP29, setting forth a framework to scale up climate-related investments, attract international finance and strengthen domestic financial systems.
It also emphasized enhancing sectoral resilience, clarifying institutional roles, and improving access to diverse funding channels.
He said the NCFS had been aligned with Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, with an aim to close the estimated $348 billion climate finance gap by 2030.
The minister expressed gratitude to the Vulnerable Twenty (V20) group, which was working on a comprehensive Climate Prosperity plan, expected to be unveiled in April.
Aurangzeb also mentioned that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would issue comprehensive guidelines for a green economy framework, including how to structure, monitor and finance green initiatives. “It is important to have a green economy framework as we move forward,” he added.
He also commented on the pledges made by donors, world-leading financial institutions, and countries at various sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Turning to the national economy, the finance minister noted that Pakistan has made significant progress on the macroeconomic front in the last 12 to 14 months, with the inflation rate dropping to 2.4 percent in January.
“More importantly, on the back of this macroeconomic stability, we are executing structural reforms, strengthening tax net,” he said and praised provincial governments for passing legislation on agriculture income tax, which he described as “a key step towards expanding the tax net.”
He also shared the government’s austerity measures, highlighting efforts to right-size federal ministries and attached departments, in addition to abolishing vacant posts as part of earlier announcements to curtail government expenditures.
