National Climate Finance Strategy of Pakistan- 2024
For over a decade, Pakistan has been one of the top ten nations most affected by climate change.
The super floods of 2022 alone caused an estimated USD 30 billion in damage and affected
over 33 million people. Such events continue to strain our communities, infrastructure, and
economic resilience. Given these realities, Pakistan faces significant climate finance needs,
with estimates ranging from US$200 billion for NDC implementation to US$348 billion for
climate-resilient development by 2030. Current climate finance flows, while increasing, fall
short of these needs, with only about US$4 billion invested in climate related activities in 2021.
Pakistan envisions a transformational change for climate-resilient and low carbon economy by
2050 by building robust infrastructure and agricultural systems to withstand extreme weather,
prioritizing water, food and energy security for all. The National Climate Finance Strategy
(NCFS) developed by the Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination in
consultation with the World Bank provides a comprehensive framework for mobilizing and
deploying climate finance and aligning it with national priorities and international
commitments
The NCFS is a time-bound, robust, and living document that will be periodically reviewed and
updated. It will be revised every two years based on progress review and feedback from
monitoring and evaluation (M&E) reports from the line ministries and the provinces. The initial
review is scheduled for FY27.
NCFS pursues a three-pronged approach centered on three main strategic objectives:
a. Adopt a whole-of-government strategy to create synergy and cohesion across all tiers of
governance at both national and subnational levels, thereby accelerating the
mainstreaming of climate change in all sectors and tiers of governance.
b. Mobilize and diversify domestic revenue and investments in order to leverage them to
attract international climate finance thereby increasing fiscal space for climate action and
supporting climate-resilient, low-carbon development, and
c. Diversify finance sources through innovative mechanisms. to facilitate partnerships
with the private sector and access both domestic and international climate finance and
investments.
The key objectives include identifying key market and policy barriers to scale up finance for
priority climate and development objectives and develop potential financing and other
interventions to scale up climate finance, both domestic and private and international action.
The three main areas identified are climate proofing sectoral policies, clarifying institutional
roles post-18th Amendment, and improving understanding of global climate finance
mechanisms. By focusing on these areas, the strategy aims to overcome barriers to climate-
resilient development and increase investments in adaptation and mitigation.
The framework is built on seven pillars, with five core pillars supporting the overall structure
and two cross-cutting pillars integrating activities across sectors. This design ensures a
comprehensive approach to climate finance, addressing governance, capacity building, and the
integration of climate considerations into broader development processes. The NCFS builds
upon the National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) while focusing on creating new frameworks
through supportive actions and policies.
The Strategy provides a critical analysis of Pakistan's sectoral policies and their alignment with
climate commitments highlighting the need for a more comprehensive approach to addressing
climate risks across sectors. The NCCP, NDC and NAP have provided a foundation for
common themes in adaptation and mitigation actions for prioritizing interventions and
investments.
The governance and coordination framework proposes the creation of four key bodies: the
Committee of the Secretaries as the Steering Committee, the Technical Committee on Climate
Finance, Provincial Technical Committees, and a Climate Finance Monitoring and Evaluation
Unit. This multi-tiered approach aims to ensure effective coordination, technical expertise, and
performance monitoring at both national and provincial levels.
The strategy underscores the critical importance of gender responsiveness in climate finance. It
emphasizes the need to consider gender impacts in climate policy and implement targeted
measures to address them, recognizing that women are disproportionately affected by climate
hazards. Research and development is highlighted as a crucial pillar of the NCFS. The strategy
emphasizes the need for Pakistan to take a proactive role in advancing state-of-the-art solutions
for low-carbon and resilient growth, tailored to its unique needs.
The way forward for implementing the NCFS include aligning the strategy with the NDC
Implementation Plan, setting measurable targets, developing detailed financial projections, and
conducting regular monitoring and evaluation.
