As it requires $348 billion by 2030 for its climate-resilient projects, Pakistan’s climate minister Romina Khurshid Alam announced the launch of its carbon market policy on Saturday to attract “green investments” and achieve “environmental sustainability” on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku.
Speaking at a session at the Pakistan Pavilion, the prime minister’s climate aide said the country was ready to collaborate with local and international stakeholders for the development of carbon markets to attract investment for its climate goals.
The carbon market framework has come under fire for ‘greenwashing’ and rights abuses in several parts of the world. At COP29, climate activists and observers see them as one of the ‘false solutions’ and there have been regular protests against it.
Observers, however, say developing countries will be able to get some money by trading carbon credits to support their adaptation and mitigation projects, but this strategy will not work in the long term.
This story was produced as part of the 2024 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security. It was first published in DAWN on November 17, 2024. It has been translated to English and lightly edited for length and clarity.
Banner image: A plenary session at COP29 / Credit: UN Climate Change - Kiara Worth.
Zaki Abbas
