FAISALABAD: Pakistan needs urgent structural reforms to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, enhance export competitiveness, and accelerate the pace of industrial growth in order to effectively respond to the challenges posed by climate change.
These views were expressed by experts from various sectors while speaking at a seminar titled “Driving a Just Industrial Transition: Role of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and Solar Rush in Pakistan’s Textile Sector.”
The seminar was organized by Alternate Development Services (ADS), an organization working to promote clean energy in Pakistan. Hosted by ADS CEO Amjad Nazeer, the event brought together more than 50 policymakers, industrial professionals, economists, and civil society experts.
The speakers emphasized the need to align MDB financing with national priorities, accelerated solar adoption in the textile sector, and broader calls for climate justice, including debt relief and/or concessional finance to prevent further burdening debt-stressed and debt-trapped nations like Pakistan.
Dr. Ali Abbas Kazmi (Head of the Energy System Engineering, USPCASE, NUST) and Usman Bin Ahmad (ETO, ADS) unveiled a scoping study based on primary data from 80 textile mills in Faisalabad and Multan, mapping 82 textile industries with 237 MW of installed solar capacity. Techno-economic modelling showed that centralised solar scenarios could achieve 87% renewable fractions with the lowest level zed cost of electricity (LCOE), while distributed models offer faster paybacks. The study projects annual GHG reductions of 1.6–1.76 billion kg CO, with significant implications for EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism’s (CBAM) compliance. Proposed policy fixes include tiered wheeling charges, solar-plus-storage incentives, and a Green Market Stabilisation and Blended Funds to de-risk investments.
The study on tracking MDB Policies for Just Transition was presented by lead author Twangar Kazmi, who put forward his analyses of the WBG’s Country Partnership Framework and the Asian Development Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy against Pakistan’s national frameworks, including NDC 3.0, IGCEP, and the National Energy Efficiency & Conservation Policy and National Energy Mitigation and Adaptation Policies. It reveals strong directional alignments but critical gaps in metrics, reform sequencing, institutional capacity, and just transition safeguards. A case study on the Punjab Green Development Program (PGDP); scored only 45% alignment; underscoring the need for robust monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems. Recommendations include civil society-led “MDB Scorecards,” multi-stakeholder working groups, and advocacy for Article 6 carbon market readiness to bridge these gaps.
Afterward, the first session, titled Solar Barriers under the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM), featured panellists Dr. Afia Malik, Qurat-ul-Ain Cheema (CEO, GEN II), and Aamir Imran (Manager Compliance & Sustainability, Kohinoor Textile Mills) discussed regulatory hurdles like high Use of System Charges (UoSC) and legacy power purchase agreements (PPAs). Imran highlighted de-carbonization challenges for SMEs, including global pressures like CBAM, and industry responses through hybrid solar systems with a case study of Kohinoor.
The second session, which examined Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) priorities, brought together Dr. Afia Malik (Energy Expert, Economist), Zubair Faisal Abbasi (Development and Public Policy Advisor), and Abdul Khaliq (Debt and Development Expert). Abbasi praised the study’s “menu card” for civil society interventions but urged micro-level surveys and restorative justice in transitions, critiquing MDBs’ neoliberal approaches. Khaliq emphasized that 70% of climate financing comes as loans, not grants, trapping Global South countries in debt. He called for parliamentary debt audit commission and reframing “climate finance” as “climate justice.” Malik noted MDB misalignments with Pakistan’s ground realities, where loans often return to lenders in one way or another, burdening the economy without addressing non-bankable needs. Dr. Khadim Hussain (Researcher, Central Secretary, ANP) added that structural issues like overproduction, overconsumption, interprovincial inequities, and elite subsidy issues must be resolved for meaningful transitions, urging accessible knowledge dissemination.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
