The writer is an economist, anchor, and geopolitical analyst
and the President of All Pakistan Private Schools’ Federation
president@Pakistanprivateschools.com
As Pakistan stands at the threshold of a transformative era, the imperative for climate action converges with the pursuit of sustainable development, underscoring the need for a unified, decisive, and inclusive approach. The establishment of a legally mandated climate-economic council, integration of climate considerations into national budgets, and prioritization of decentralized renewable energy are crucial steps towards harmonizing planning and execution across sectors. By investing in technical training, climate planning tools, and social safeguard mechanisms, Pakistan can ensure the inclusive participation of marginalized groups and build a climate-resilient future. The alignment of future investments, including CPEC, with climate objectives, and the development of a centralized platform for tracking climate-economic policies, will be pivotal in achieving sustainable growth. The economic transformation of Pakistan influenced the sustainable, resilient and long-term development of Pakistan, in terms of policy strategies. Climate governance plays a critical role in shaping economic transformation, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan, where climate vulnerabilities and economic challenges intersect. From 2020 to 2025, Pakistan has faced increasing climate-related risks, and it necessitates strong policy frameworks to align environmental sustainability with economic growth. The major objective of this research is to explores the effectiveness of Pakistan’s climate governance frameworks in context of sustainable economic transformation from 2020 to 2025. It evaluates existing policies, identifies key governance gaps, and proposes strategic recommendations to integrate climate considerations into national economic planning. The five years since 2020 can be seen as a critical stage in Pakistan with the eventual incorporation of climate control with economic development. The country has made commendable efforts by setting its policies in alignment with the international commitments including the Paris Agreement, updating its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and unlocking climate finance to finance green infrastructure and renewable energy projects. Acts like establishing climate-sensitive units and initiating the involvement of the provincial governments are the institutional innovations that indicate the growing recognition of the climate-related hazards and chances of sustainable development. Conversely, governance challenges, poor coordination, and weak capacity across regions have put the carrying out of these strategies in a disadvantaged position. Such trade-offs between climate resilience and economic growth are still visible, mainly in sectors whose activity depends on carbon-intensive activities, and in communities experiencing social and economic marginalization. The is utilising a combination of policy analysis, case study examination, and expert interviews. Primary data include semi-structured interviews with policymakers, environmental experts, and economists, while secondary data will be gathered through government reports, policy documents, and academic literature covering the 2020–2025 timeframe. This is grounded in two theories Ecological Modernization Theory and Governance theory, first theory theorizes that economic growth and environmental sustainability can coexist through technological advancements, policy innovation, and institutional reforms. Second theory assess how institutional mechanisms, regulatory frameworks, and stakeholder participation influence climate governance and economic transformation in Pakistan. After examining the effectiveness of Pakistan’s climate governance from 2020 to 2025, this falls within the current debate concerning the concept of sustainable development, offering policy recommendations to enhance governance mechanisms, foster climate resilience, and support long-term economic stability. Not only have such changes in the environment threatened the stability of theology, but has also destroyed other important areas that the national economy highly relies on including agriculture, water resources, and energy. The problem of an increasing population and a high urbanization level make the need to develop a sustainable growth policy that would be resilient and climate-compatible more crucial than ever. The combination of the climate crisis and what is lastingly being called an economic crisis demands a paradigm shift in policy thinking and climate governance is one of those that are being perceived as part of core to sustainable economy transformation. Governance theory, and especially its focus on institutional capacity, regulatory coherence and stakeholder participation, offers rich insights on how environmental and economic policies may be feasibly merged. Using the governance theory in the context of the climate policy of Pakistan can help us to evaluate not only whether governmental institutions and structures are efficient, but also to determine whether non-state actors, civil society organizations as well as international organizations can facilitate an integrated approach to climate risks. It also throws some light to the questions of accountability, decentralization and flexible policymaking that are relevant in long-term environmental and economic transgression management. The nexus of climate governance and economic transformation in Pakistan through to 2025, a time when the world is ablaze with climate ambition, the onset of COVID-19, and the recalibration of development priorities. It also attempts to establish and evaluate policy measures that have tried to adjust economic growth to climate resilience, initializing green finance, transition to the replacement of energy, and industry and institutional creativity. This is premeditated and multidisciplinary in nature, drawing on environmental governance, economic planning documents, and even global climate systems to find out the way to make sustainable growth due to the coherence of its policies and the establishment of new institutions.
As Pakistan navigates the complexities of climate change, it must prioritize climate justice, finance, and cooperation with the Global South. By mainstreaming climate change content in educational curricula, expanding awareness campaigns, and championing climate justice in international platforms, Pakistan can foster a climate-literate society and ensure a sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future for generations to come!
As Pakistan embarks on a transformative journey towards a climate-resilient and sustainable future, the establishment of a legally mandated, empowered inter-ministerial climate-economic council can serve as a crucial catalyst for harmonizing planning and execution across sectors. By integrating climate tagging and impact assessments into national and provincial budgets, Pakistan can ensure transparency and accountability in tracking public spending on climate resilience and green growth. The country’s future prosperity depends on its ability to localize national climate objectives, prioritize decentralized renewable energy, and incentivize private investment. Moreover, building the capacity of national and sub-national institutions to access international climate funds and developing social safeguard mechanisms can ensure inclusive participation of marginalized groups. As Pakistan navigates the complexities of climate change, it must prioritize climate justice, finance, and cooperation with the Global South. By mainstreaming climate change content in educational curricula and expanding awareness campaigns, Pakistan can foster a climate-literate society. By working together, Pakistan can transform its economy, ensure environmental sustainability, and build a resilient future for generations to come. The time for climate action is now, and Pakistan’s future depends on the decisions made today. There’re an urgent need to: Launch a legally mandated, empowered inter-ministerial climate-economic council to harmonize planning and execution across energy, finance, agriculture, and environment sectors; Incorporate climate tagging and impact assessments into national and provincial budgets to track public spending on climate resilience and green growth; Invest in technical training, data infrastructure, and climate planning tools for provincial and local governments to localize national climate objectives successfully; Prioritise decentralized solar and wind systems, eliminate fossil fuel subsidies steadily, and incentivize private investment through feed-in tariffs and risk-sharing mechanisms; Align vocational training programs with emerging opportunities in renewable energy, ecosystem renovation, waste management, and climate-smart agriculture; Build the project preparation and fiduciary capacity of national and sub-national institutions to safe and absorb funds from the Green Climate Fund, World Bank, and other donors; Develop social safeguard mechanisms and community-led planning that ensure the inclusive participation of the women, informal workers and other marginalized groups into green economic reforms; Align future CPEC investments with climate objectives by prioritizing clean energy, low-carbon transport, and climate-resilient infrastructure; Set up a centralized, openly accessible platform for tracking the implementation and outcomes of climate-economic policies using real-time data; Prepare export industries for emerging international climate regulations (e.g., EU’s CBAM) by promoting cleaner technologies, environmental certifications, and climate-compliant supply chains; Endorse afforestation, wetland restoration, and floodplain zoning as cost-effective and adaptive strategies to diminish climate vulnerability and support rural livelihoods; Mainstream climate change content in educational curricula and expand awareness campaigns to assemble a climate-literate society; Collaborate with South Asian and other Global South to exchange good practices and come up with joint technologies and champion climate justice and finance in international platforms. In the future, the answer to a long-term sustainable and inclusive transformation is to further institutionalize reform, integrate the assessment of climate impacts into both fiscal and development planning, and make sure that affected groups of the population captured by the payback of the green transition finally include those that are most vulnerable. Improving government capacities, green innovation at scale involving renewable and eco-friendly solutions through public-private partnerships, and avenues of entry to climate funding will all be desired enablers towards closing the implementation gap. Besides the same, social fairness and community-based adaptation as priorities will enhance the climate resilience of the Pakistani economy and strengthen its commitment to climate justice. It will depend on a coherent, participatory and forward-looking step towards whether Pakistan will be able to find a successful end in the balance between the imperatives of environmental sustainability and the demands of economic growth in the post 2025 years. As Pakistan navigates the complexities of climate change, it must prioritize climate justice, finance, and cooperation with the Global South. By mainstreaming climate change content in educational curricula, expanding awareness campaigns, and championing climate justice in international platforms, Pakistan can foster a climate-literate society and ensure a sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future for generations to come. The time for climate action is now, and Pakistan’s future depends on the decisions made today.
