Population boost, climate change: Sustainability hinges on two existential issues: Aurangzeb

ISLAMABAD: The sustainability and overall economic situation of the country will ultimately depend upon two existential issues including population growth and climate change and how these are dealt with.

This was said by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb while speaking at the international climate change conference titled, “Breathe Pakistan” held in Islamabad.

Aurangzeb also announced that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would issue comprehensive guidelines for a green economy framework, including how to structure, monitor and finance green initiatives. “It is important to have a green economy framework as we move forward,” he added.

Mitigating climate risks: Aurangzeb underscores importance of global cooperation

He said Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and urgently needed to accelerate its mitigation efforts. The minister expressed gratitude to the Vulnerable Twenty group, which is working on a comprehensive Climate Prosperity plan, expected to be unveiled in April.

“In terms of the sustainability of Pakistan, and our overall economic situation in the country, it will ultimately depend upon two existential issues and how we deal with those. “One is population control and population management. Unfortunately, we’re still growing at a rate of 2.5 percent,” the minister added.

On the issue of climate change, he said: “We’ve known the what and why. There’s no dearth of policy prescriptions. It’s ultimately about the how and who.”

Aurangzeb stressed the need to adopt policies framed to address climate change-related issues on a fast-track basis, moving beyond “policy prescriptions”.

“There is no dearth of policy prescriptions; it is all about how and who. I sincerely hope this two-day conference will address the operationalisation issues,” he added. The minister referenced the existing National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and the National Climate Finance Strategy (NCFS) that Pakistan announced in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024.

The launch of the strategy took place at the UN-led global climate conference, COP29, setting forth a framework to scale up climate-related investments, attract international finance and strengthen domestic financial systems. It also emphasised enhancing sectoral resilience, clarifying institutional roles, and improving access to diverse funding channels.

He said the NCFS had been aligned with Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, with an aim to close the estimated $348 billion climate finance gap by 2030.

He also commented on the pledges made by donors, world-leading financial institutions, and countries at various sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Turning to the national economy, the finance minister noted that Pakistan has made significant progress on the macroeconomic front in the last 12 to 14 months, with the inflation rate dropping to 2.4 percent in January.

“More importantly, on the back of this macroeconomic stability, we are executing structural reforms, strengthening tax net,” he said and praised provincial governments for passing legislation on agriculture income tax, which he described as “a key step towards expanding the tax net.”

He also shared the government’s austerity measures, highlighting efforts to right-size federal ministries and attached departments, in addition to abolishing vacant posts as part of earlier announcements to curtail government expenditures.

Aurangzeb reiterated the importance of financial reforms, population control, and climate investment, mentioning the National Adaptation Plan and Climate Finance Strategy.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025