Pakistan

Pakistan has been a party to the UNFCCC since 1994 and of the Kyoto Protocol since 2005. The first draft of the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) was published by the Ministry of Environment in April 2011, was adopted by the Parliament in 2012 and was officially launched in 2013. The Framework for Implementation of Climate Change Policy (2014-2030) was developed later in the same year to set out priority actions and implementation schedule for target sectors.

The NCCP was developed with extensive consulta­tion with Pakistan’s provinces, federal institutions and civil society. Its goal is “to ensure that climate change is mainstreamed in the economically and socially vulnerable sectors of the economy and to steer Pakistan towards climate-resilient development”. It will be subject to reviews and updates every five years by the Climate Change Policy Implementation Committees. The NCCP would help Pakistan to continue on a development path to achieve the goals envisioned in the Planning Commission’s Pakistan 2025 document.

The Prime Minister’s Committee on Climate Change (PMCCC) is an overarching body that monitors climate change-related developments both globally and domestically and provide overall climate policy guidance. The Global change Impact Studies Centre (GCIS) is the secretariat to the PMCCC. In 2012, the Ministry of National Disaster Management was renamed the Ministry of Climate Change and is mandated to address climate change in the country and co-ordinate with other relevant agencies and institutions. The NCCP Committee was established to ensure effective implementation of the climate policy and to oversee the progress in this regard. The Committee meets biannually and reports to the PMCCC on a regular basis. One of its tasks is the regular monitoring and upgrading of the NCCP at an interval of five years. The Committee is chaired by the Minister of Climate Change and will be integrated by the Secretaries responsible for climate change of other Ministries. These are: Planning and Development, Foreign Affairs, Industries and Produc­tion, Finance, Water and Power, Food and Agriculture, Health and Defence.

Energy Supply

Pakistan has experienced an energy crisis because of stalled reforms, energy shortages and financial deficit. Electricity sales rose by 40% in the five years to June 30, 2007, a period of high economic growth, while generation remained stagnant. Pakistan is a net importer of crude oil and refined products. In 2013, electricity was produced from oil (36%), natural gas (29%), hydropower (29%) and nuclear power (5%).

The Ministry of Water and Power has developed the National Power Policy (2013) to set out an overall energy policy. The goals of the Policy include building power generation capacity to ensure sustainable energy supply (decrease supply-demand gap from 4,500-5,000MW to 0MW by 2017) and generation of affordable electricity by using indigenous resources such as coal and hydro (decrease cost from PKR12 (USD0.11) per unit (unit unspecified) to PKR10 (USD0.09) by 2017).

In October 2014 Pakistan inaugurated its first high precision solar measuring station. This will be the first of many with 100MW of capacity currently being constructed and due to begin generating electricity in early 2015.

The World Bank and Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board are working together to map renewable energy resources across the country. The project, supported by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme, will measure Pakistan’s potential for wind, solar and biomass energy. A major part of this mapping initiative is to collect ground-based measurement data for up to two years. The data will then be used to improve the models, leading to the production of solar and wind atlases. These in turn can be used to set tariffs and guide the strategic development of renewable energy, and by commercial developers to carry out feasibility studies, leading to development of solar and wind power plants.

Energy Demand

The National Energy Conservation Authority (ENERCON) was established under the Pakistan Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act (2011) to initiate, co-ordinate and implement energy conservation programmes. In response to an inefficient power transmission and distribution system the National Power Policy (2013) aims to “develop the most efficient and consumer-centric power generation, transmission and distribution system”. The Policy aims to: create a culture of energy conservation and responsibility; promote world class efficiency in power generation; and minimise inefficiencies in the distribution system (decrease transmission and distribution loss from 23-25% to 16% by 2017).

REDD+ and LULUCF

Pakistan’s forest cover is small (4.8%) and the rate of deforestation is 0.2-0.4% per annum. The National Forestry Policy (2010) sets out to restore existing forests in addition to restoring deforested and degraded areas. There is a strong focus on watershed reforestation, which should confer additional benefits in terms of reduced downstream siltation; more stable river discharge; and benefits to hillside communities in terms of improved supplies of timber and non-timber products. The Pakistan 2025 policy states that the largest single abatement strategy is expected from preventing deforestation (25%), which will be achieved by greater awareness (especially among women and children in rural areas) and civil society pressure for law enforcement. The document displays the target of 6% increase in forest cover by 2030 through better watershed management and planting campaigns.

Transportation

According to Pakistan 2025, inefficiency in the transport system is estimated to have cost the economy 4-6% of GDP. The Policy sets out plans to establish an efficient and well-integrated transportation system to develop a competitive economy. Some of the major initiatives are: construction of major new motorways, efficient port handing and customs, replacement and doubling of railways tracks, new railway carriages and locomotives, modernisation of truck fleets, and mass transit system in metropolitan areas. The number of functional airports, including new ones, would be doubled to 50 by 2015.

Adaptation

The main focus of the Pakistan 2025 document is to promote mitigation and adaptation, in view of the high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change including degraded ecosystems and high levels of rural poverty, illiteracy and marginalisation of women. The policy document refers to mitigation measures for energy efficiency and conservation, transportation, forestry, industry, agriculture, livestock and town planning.

Besides the national measures that are laid out in Pakistan 2025 and the NCCP, Pakistan has been running projects on disaster risk management and climate change adaptation under the funding and guidance from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) managed by the World Bank. It is one of the priority countries within the GFDRR and key programmes include the Development of a National Platform for Risk Assessment and Catastrophe Risk Financing (USD500,000 between 2012 and 2015) and Flood Emergency Preparedness (USD280,000 between 2010 and 2011). The priorities for GFDRR engagements are: analysis and advocacy for enhanced understanding of risk and their long-term impacts; disaster prevention; emergency preparedness; emergency response operations; and advancement of risk financing mechanisms. Key partners include the UN, South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), Australia, EU, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States.