ADB commissions NCAP’s review in collaboration with Ministry

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has commissioned an independent review of the National Clean Air Policy (NCAP) in collaboration with the Climate Change Ministry to examine governance arrangements and sectoral measures in order to develop “a more effective, measurable and legally- enforceable implementation framework.”

Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik said this at a recent event jointly organised by the Climate Change Ministry, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and the ADB regarding the Pakistan National Clean Air Policy Implementation Plan.

“Pakistan must move beyond policy commitments and translate its National Clean Air Policy into a time-bound and actionable implementation plan,” the minister said.

He said air pollution has become one of the world’s most serious environmental and public-health challenges with the World Health Organisation estimating that 99 percent of the global population lived in areas where pollution exceeded its recommended limits.

Pakistan, he said, faced an especially serious challenge, with recurring winter smog affecting Punjab and other areas.

Pakistan adopted its first dedicated NCAP in 2023, following decades of environmental legislation and air-quality initiatives, Malik said, adding that the country’s first National Air Pollutant Emission Inventory, prepared in 2022, provided an important evidence base for the policy.

He said the government is considering establishing a National Clean Air Secretariat in the Climate Change Ministry to strengthen coordination and implementation.

Addressing the event, Pak-EPA Director General Syed Abrar Hussain said Pakistan has evolved from addressing air pollution mainly through general environmental regulations to establishing a dedicated national clean air framework.

He said the federal cabinet unanimously approved the NCAP in March 2023 following consultations with the provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), government institutions, civil society, academia and the private sector.

The policy’s implementation requires stronger federal-provincial coordination since air pollution monitoring, control and mitigation had largely been devolved to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the DG Pak-EPA said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026