At COP31 summit, PM stresses Pakistan requires $188billion to meet clean energy goals

In a meeting titled ‘Transition to Green Energy by 2035: Powering the Future’, the PM presented Pakistan’s roadmap for transitioning to clean energy and emphasised increasing international financial support and providing affordable technology to achieve climate goals. Shehbaz Sharif said that the share of clean energy sources in Pakistan's overall energy system has reached about 55 percent.

He said that before leaving for Antalya, he inaugurated a key part of Pakistan's seventh nuclear power plant, which will add 1200 MW of clean electricity to the national grid., under the recently introduced auto policy, a target has been set to convert 30 percent of new vehicles into electric vehicles by 2030, for which various incentives, including lower tariffs, will be provided.

He said that in the future, all buses and motorcycles purchased by the government will be electric, while more than one in every 10 motorcycles sold in Pakistan this year is an electric motorcycle. Shehbaz Sharif said that the transition to green energy is progressing rapidly, but continued financial support is essential to achieve the desired goals.

Pakistan needs about $138 billion for low-carbon power generation projects by 2035, while another $50 billion is needed to replace coal-fired power generation projects with solar energy. He said that expanding the electricity transmission network, establishing reliable energy storage systems, and making modern technology affordable require huge investments, the burden of which the debt-ridden economy cannot bear alone.

The PM urged global partners to provide financial support on concessional terms and facilitate the transfer of affordable technology, saying that lofty goals for clean energy can only be achieved through collective efforts and timely financial support.

He said that the target of 35 percent by 2035 can be achieved only if financial resources are provided through concessional capital and cheap technology transfer. The international community should adopt a development model that balances economic growth and environmental protection.

Shehbaz Sharif said that countries should be able to meet the energy needs of their people and develop their economies, but the planet should not be harmed in the process. He expressed his determination that the promises of a transition to clean energy must be fulfilled through collective commitment and practical actions.