By Farooq Awan

Pakistan maintained compliance with major international environmental-reporting obligations and advanced policies covering carbon markets, hazardous waste, biodiversity and ozone-depleting substances, although the European Commission said stronger enforcement was needed to turn those commitments into measurable results.

According to the Commission’s latest GSP+ assessment of Pakistan covering 2023–2025 and available with Wealth Pakistan, the country remained engaged with international environmental conventions through policy measures and timely reporting during a period of severe climate stress.

Pakistan complied with its reporting obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and received no request for additional information from the convention secretariat.

In September 2025, the country submitted an updated Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, extending its climate-mitigation pathway to 2035 while retaining a similar level of ambition and conditional support structure.

Implementation is guided by the National Climate Change Policy, the National Adaptation Plan adopted in 2023 and the Recharge Pakistan programme.

Pakistan also adopted a National Clean Air Policy in 2023 and issued Carbon Market Guidelines in 2024.

The assessment noted that the country gained access to the International Monetary Fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility, linking concessional climate finance with reforms in energy pricing, public investment and disaster-risk management.

Progress was also recorded under the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer.

Pakistan completed the second stage of its hydrochlorofluorocarbon phase-out programme in December 2024.

The third stage, which runs until 2030, targets a 67.5% reduction by 2026 and a complete phase-out by 2030, with support from the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.

Pakistan ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on January 31, 2024, committing to gradually reduce hydrofluorocarbons that contribute to global warming.

In wildlife protection, Pakistan was upgraded to Category 1 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species following a review in November 2023. The classification confirmed that the country’s implementing legislation met the convention’s standards.

Pakistan also adopted the Hazardous Waste Import and Export Rules in 2024, strengthening licensing, shipment manifest, and reporting systems while advancing the development of a national hazardous-waste database.

Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, Pakistan submitted its seventh national report in March 2026 and continued updating its national biodiversity strategy and action plan. Completion of the updated strategy is expected in 2027.

The report said Pakistan also maintained reporting compliance under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

These measures were taken as the country experienced acute climate pressures during 2024 and 2025, including heatwaves exceeding 50 degrees Celsius in Sindh and Punjab, monsoon flooding, drought, cold spells and severe smog.

The Commission said the events affected millions and contributed to water shortages, crop losses and damage to infrastructure.

While recognising Pakistan’s progress in reporting and policy development, the assessment said implementation remained the central challenge.

It called for stronger provincial and local enforcement, operational carbon-market mechanisms, improved monitoring and verification, better hazardous-waste tracking and greater investment in climate-resilient agriculture and urban infrastructure.

The report concluded that Pakistan’s formal environmental compliance remained broadly on track, but future progress would depend on converting policies and international commitments into stronger resilience and measurable environmental improvements.

Credit: INP-WealthPk