- Premier unveils Pakistan’s new climate targets, including raising renewable and hydropower share to 62% of the energy mix by 2035, expanding nuclear capacity, shifting 30% of transport to cleaner mobility by 2030, and planting one billion trees
NEW YORK/ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday urged the international community to fulfil its climate finance commitments, warning that debt-driven solutions cannot address the climate catastrophe facing vulnerable countries like Pakistan.
Speaking at the Special Climate Event convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the President of Brazil, the prime minister announced Pakistan’s new climate targets, including raising renewable and hydropower share to 62% of the energy mix by 2035, expanding nuclear capacity, shifting 30% of transport to cleaner mobility by 2030, and planting one billion trees.
“Loans over loans, adding to loans is not a solution,” the prime minister told delegates, stressing that Pakistan was committed to being part of the solution but required fair international support.
He reminded the gathering that Pakistan was still reeling from the scars of the 2022 floods that caused losses exceeding $30 billion and displaced millions, while this year’s intense monsoon rains and floods affected more than five million people, destroyed 4,100 villages, and claimed over 1,000 lives.
Highlighting Pakistan’s negligible contribution to global emissions, he noted that the country had already met its unconditional pledge of a 15% reduction in projected greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. “Renewables now provide over 32% of our power mix, and solar capacity has grown seven-fold since 2021. We have restored 23,000 hectares of mangroves,” he said, lamenting that inadequate international climate finance severely hampered the implementation of Pakistan’s adaptation plan.
The prime minister announced Pakistan’s roadmap for climate action: increasing renewable and hydropower share to 62% of the energy mix by 2035, adding 1,200 MW in nuclear energy capacity by 2030, shifting 30% of transport to clean mobility with 3,000 nationwide charging stations, scaling up climate-smart agriculture, safeguarding water security, and advancing the one-billion-tree plantation programme.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in his address, underlined the urgency of action, stressing that it was still possible to limit global warming to 1.5°C if countries step up with new, more ambitious 2035 targets. He called for a credible global response plan at COP30 in Brazil, backed by $1.3 trillion in climate finance annually by 2035, and urged debt relief measures for developing countries that “did least to cause the crisis but are suffering the most.”
