CPEC offers platform to redirect Pakistan's growth trajectory toward green industrialization

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) offers a strategic platform to redirect Pakistan's growth trajectory towards green industrialization, providing opportunities to integrate low-carbon technologies and promote sustainable development, said experts and officials.

They made remarks on Tuesday during a seminar on green industrialization organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), an Islamabad-based think tank.

Speaking on the occasion, Shamshad Akhtar, former federal finance minister and governor of State Bank of Pakistan, said that Pakistan has benefited from China's investments in renewable energy, electric vehicles and solar panels.

"Policymakers need to prioritize green finance as a national imperative under its bilateral cooperation with China under CPEC," she said, adding that Pakistan must align its frameworks with China's rapidly evolving climate finance ecosystem by implementing innovative financing models such as green bonds, debt-for-nature swaps, and green special economic zones.

Describing CPEC as an opportunity for green industrialization, Mustafa Hyder Sayed, executive director of the Islamabad-based think-tank Pakistan-China Institute, said that CPEC's second phase must focus on renewables, battery storage and eco-industrial parks.

"Pakistan's geography makes it a natural pilot for green special economic zones," he said, adding that private capital and Chinese expertise must be brought in to catalyze low-carbon development.

Haroon Sharif, former Minister of State and Chairman of Pakistan's Board of Investment, said that Pakistan should establish climate-based banking infrastructure, de-risking mechanisms and private sector-led institutions to finance CPEC's green transition.

Sharif called for evidence-based policymaking and strategic reforms to align Pakistan's economy with the demands of a low-carbon future.

Wang Shengjie, counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, said China is committed to expanding international cooperation in green finance.

China is also willing to inject Chinese momentum and provide public goods for global sustainable development and addressing climate change in terms of policy systems, partnerships, and practical cooperation, Wang said.