Islamabad: Under the four country project on “Resilient, Green and Transformative Development” in Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Türkiye, the Social Policy Resource Centre and its partner the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, jointly organised the Second National Consultation Green Industrialisation in Pakistan on February 26 & 27, 2025 at Margala Hotel Islamabad. The Second National Consultation builds upon the consensus & findings that emerged from the previous national consultation held in October 2023, as well as the sectoral studies conducted under the project.

This consultation brought together academia, researchers, industry experts and policy makers to discuss the key constraints and innovative solutions in greening transformation of Pakistan in the national context. On the first day of the consultation, the key findings of the seven Sectoral Studies produced under the second phase of the project, namely on plastic, vegetable oil, aluminium utensils, PVC & plastic kitchenware, textile dyeing and finishing , detergents and wheat were presented. In these recent studies, a special consideration is given to these industrial sectors owing to their larger share in domestic market and high contribution to GHG emissions, environmental pollution and harmful impact on public health.

The National Coordinator to the Prime Minister for the Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination Ms. Romina Khurshid Alam inaugurated this high-level consultation, setting the tone for two days of deliberations on green, clean, lean and socially responsible solutions for manufacturing and agriculture sectors.

Speaking on this occasion, Ms. Romina Khurshid, said that adoption and institutionalisation of any Green Industiralisation Policy Framework, requires strengthening inter-ministerial coordination. This means better coordination with and amongst the provinces, the departments of industries, environment and commerce as well the Ministry of Climate Change, the Ministry of Industries and Productions, Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Science and Technology and of course the Board of Investment.

The Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology Mr. Sajid Baloch, observed that greening the manufacturing processes and technologies needs to be taken up as our own issue, which persists regardless of international standards and commitments, because the negative environmental externalities of problematic processes and pollutants incur a cost on the lives and health of our people and to our economy. To achieve green and transformative development, we have to present a compelling business case to the industry and business community, demonstrating that adoption of sustainable practices and technologies benefit everyone.

The Hon. Secretary Ms. Aisha Humera Chauhdary, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, expressed her worries on the deteriorating air quality. She observed that average life year is reducing in Pakistan due to rising pollutions. This should be a concern for all, and it requires synergizing efforts from all corridors. She encouraged the academia and industry to join hands with the government and come up with own local solutions, establish our own R&D Centres. Environment and IT being two cross-cutting themes can offer several solutions.

On the second day of the consultation, Dr. Safdar Sohail, Executive Director of the Social Policy Resource Centre , presented the Green Industrialization Policy Framework in a policy roundtable. The proposed framework calls for bringing greening into existing policy frameworks and strengthening the nexus between voluntary standards and environmental compliance. To reimagine greening in our national context we must strengthen interlinkages between industry, academia and government.

The consultation concluded with a joint consensus for approaching greening not just as an issue of compliance rather as a growth trend linking green finance with green innovation, reorganizing standards and compliance regimes and ensuring effective utilization of the competition policy for enabling this green transformation.

The Additional Secretary, Mr. Asif Saeed Khan Lughmani Ministry of Industries and Production, chaired this policy roundtable, which was followed with a concluding session on Regional Partnership and Cooperation for Green Development. The concluding session included remarks from Mr. Zulifqar Younas, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Ambassador Jauhar Saleem, President, Institute of Regional Studies, Dr. Naeem uz Zafar, Chief Statistical Officer, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and Dr. Sajid Amin, Deputy Executive Director Research, Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

The distinguished speakers of the National Consultation included Dr. Safdar Sohail, Executive Director  SPRC, Dr. Stephanie Blankenburg, Chief of Branch, UNCTAD; Ms. Romina Khurshid Alam, National Coordinator to the Prime Minister, Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination; Mr. Sajid Baloch, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology; Ms. Aisha Humera Chauhdary, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination; Mr. Asif Saeed Khan Lughmani, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Industries and Production; Mr. Zulifqar Younas, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination; Ambassador Jauhar Saleem, President, Institute of Regional Studies; Dr. Naeem uz Zafar, Chief Statistical Officer, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics; Mr. Taufique Abbasi, Deputy Director General, PSQCA, Ministry of Science and Technology; Dr. Muhammad Farhan, Professor, Department of Polymer and Process Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology; Dr. Imdad Hussain, Professor, Department of Governance and Global Studies, Information Technology University; Mr. Faizan Ahmad, Faizan Metal Industries, Gujranwala; Mr. Imtiaz Ali Rastgar, Founder and Chairman, Rastgar Group; Ms. Samia Saleem, Project Director, Punjab Green Development Programme; Mr. Imran Ali Sultan, Chief, Affordable Housing Project, Government of Punjab; Dr. Sofia Alvi, Chief Scientific Officer, Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Karachi; Mr. Fayaz H. Rahoojo, Additional Secretary, Environment, Climate Change & Coastal Development, Government of Sindh; Dr. Sajid Amin, Deputy Executive Director Research, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Mr. Abid Raza Khan, HOD, Department of Business Economics, Punjab University, Lahore and SPRC; Dr. Amjad Hussain, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology