Pakistan's Agenda at COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow
By Riaz Haq
CA

Though Pakistan's contribution to global carbon emissions is less than 1% it is ranked among countries most vulnerable to climate change. The energy-hungry nation needs help to finance climate-friendly development of clean energy sources and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Pakistan has provided its NDCs 2021 (national determined contribution 2021) to the United Nations ahead of the 26th conference of parties (COP26) starting this week in Glasgow, Scotland. Some of Pakistan's NDC targets are voluntary while others are contingent upon the receipt of financial assistance from the rich nations most responsible for the climate crisis. Some of Pakistan's solutions are nature-based such as its Billion Tree Afforestation Project (BTAP) while others require significant increase in low-carbon energy from wind, solar, hydro and nuclear.

Malik Amin Aslam, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's special assistant on climate change, said recently in an interview with CNN that his country is seeking to change its energy mix to favor green. He informed Pakistan's 60% renewable energy target would be based on solar, wind and hydro power projects, and 40% would come from hydrocarbon and nuclear which is also low-carbon. “Nuclear power has to be part of the country’s energy mix for the future as a zero energy emission source for a clean and green future,” he concluded. Here are the key points Aslam made to Becky Anderson of CNN:
1. Pakistan wants to be a part of the solution even though it accounts for less than 1% of global carbon emissions.
2. Extreme weather events are costing Pakistan significant losses of life and property. Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
3. Pakistan is moving towards renewable energy by converting 60% of its energy mix to renewable by 2030. Electric vehicle (EV) transition is also beginning in his country.
4. Aslam said: “We are one of the world leaders on nature-based solutions. However, the World Bank (WB) in its Report has came up with really good numbers in a comparison of countries who are shifting their mainstream development towards environment friendly policies and Pakistan came atop among them,” the SAPM explained.
Here's a video of Malik Amin Aslam's interview with CNN"s Becky Anderson:
https://youtu.be/Q_s4kQXChuM
((Riaz Haq is a Silicon Valley-based Pakistani-American analyst and writer. He blogs at www.riazhaq.com)