Page 13 - CMA Journal (Nov-Dec 2025)

Exclusive Interview

Third, every new project must meet mandatory green million gallons of sewage discharged into Rawal Dam
resilience standards. All urban and infrastructure daily and the Indus River being the second most polluted
developments should reserve at least 10% of project river in the world. Banning single-use plastics, as already
land for integrated green or blue space, not decorative done in Islamabad, must be expanded nationwide.
landscaping, but functional rain gardens, wetlands, and Investment is needed in plastic-to-material technologies,
green corridors that absorb stormwater, cool cities, and waste-to-energy, and circular economy models that
restore biodiversity. This approach is already standard in reduce pollution while addressing energy shortages.
high-density cities such as Singapore and Seoul, where
Finally, Pakistan must shift from mega-projects to
green infrastructure is treated as a core urban system,
innovation at scale. This is not the era of big dams,
not optional aesthetics. Pakistan must follow suit to
especially when funding gaps and cost overruns persist.
break the flood-pollution-heat cycle.
The future lies in distributed innovation: plastics
Fourth, pollution control must be treated as a public converted into usable materials, students and startups
health and climate emergency. Pollution is a serial killer in leading new environmental solutions, and nature-based
Pakistan: 256,000 deaths annually linked to air pollution, solutions monetised through carbon credits, as
11 million children under five affected by smog in demonstrated by the Delta Blue mangrove project.
Punjab’s worst-hit areas, USD 22 billion annual economic
ICMA: How can citizens, civil society and local
cost, nearly 6.5% of GDP. Children breathe twice as fast as
governments turn climate policies into visible,
adults, making pollution a generational injustice.
measurable results?
Fifth, transport, industry, and agriculture must shift
Sherry Rehman: Civil society and local governments
simultaneously. Pakistan adopted the National Clean Air
can support community-level monitoring, transparent
Policy in 2023, under which:
reporting, and participatory planning, ensuring projects
• Transport: Enforce vehicle inspection and mainte- demonstrate real benefits for farmers, households, and
nance, retire high-emitting heavy commercial vulnerable groups. Citizens everywhere in the world are
vehicles, improve fuel quality to Euro-5 and Euro-6 actually making the change, including in Pakistan, where
standards, and prioritise clean buses on high-de- renewable energy is being utilised across the board,
mand routes. helping to reduce high losses from a leaky and inefficient
• Industry: Complete the transition to cleaner brick power grid. Pakistan’s rooftop revolution is a case in
kiln technologies, mandate continuous real-time point, where low-cost solar panels from China have
emissions monitoring, and require standardised transformed the energy and emissions landscape.
third-party audits with public compliance reporting. Pakistan is now the world’s 6th-largest solar market.
• Agriculture: Ensure strict implementation of the ban A whole-of-country approach will require Pakistan
on crop residue burning with strong monitoring. holding its own Conference of Parties, where key agencies,
both provincial and federal, come together to reshape the
• Waste: Prevent open burning of municipal solid
climate and resilience landscape while generating aligned
waste.
and updated data for clear policy responses.
• Households/Residential: Promote use of low-emis- ICMA: What key lessons from recent climate
sion cooking technologies.
disasters should shape Pakistan’s future policies and
Moreover, Pakistan recently introduced the New Energy infrastructure for stronger resilience?
Vehicle Policy (NEVP) 2025–30, which aims to see 30% of
Sherry Rehman: The central lesson is that reactive
new sales comprising new energy vehicles (NEVs) in
responses are no longer viable. The 2022 floods,
two-and three-wheelers, passenger cars, light
subsequent Punjab floods destroying 2.5 million acres of
commercial vehicles (LCVs), buses, and trucks by 2030.
farmland, and accelerating glacial melt, show that
It also targets 50% NEV sales by 2040 and aspires to reach Pakistan must shift to proactive, digital, climate-smart
a net-zero transport fleet by 2060. The policy aims for adaptation.
100% of new vehicle sales across all segments to be NEVs
Future policy must prioritise early warning systems,
by 2050. The NEVP also envisions the establishment of
climate-proof infrastructure, transparent, high-quality
3,000 charging stations by FY30, including Level 3 fast
project design, diversified financing beyond loans and
chargers and Level 2 chargers, with the target for FY26
people-first adaptation.
set at 240 charging stations.
The Editorial Board thanks Senator Sherry Rehman, Chairperson,
Sixth, water contamination and plastic pollution must be
Standing Committee on Climate Change & Environmental
tackled at scale. Pakistan recycles only 1% of plastic, Coordination- Senate of Pakistan for sparing her precious time to give
compared to a global average of 9%. Plastics choke drains, an exclusive interview for Chartered Management Accountant Journal.
worsen flooding, and contaminate water bodies, with 9
ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Nov-Dec 2025 11