ISLAMABAD, Oct 22 (APP): Experts on Thursday underscored that Pakistan should go to COP31 with a clear case for grants rather than loans, a pipeline of funded programmes and a plan to protect itself from rising debt.
They said the conditional part of Pakistan’s NDC 3.0, equal to 33 percentage points of its 50 percent emissions reduction target, depends on international finance reaching implementing institutions.
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), together with the Pakistan Renewable Energy Coalition (PREC), held an online webinar on “Financing Pakistan’s Climate Priorities at COP31”, where the experts discussed what Pakistan should seek at the conference in Antalya, which financing terms suit its needs, and how national priorities can become funded programmes at provincial and local levels.
Saleha Qureshi, Senior Research Associate at SDPI, presented the mitigation position paper prepared for PREC. She said climate ambition must be backed by finance, global goals should not become compulsory national quotas, and climate action should support jobs, exports and vulnerable communities.
She noted that Pakistan’s NDC sets a target of 60 percent renewables by 2035, and said investment is needed in transmission lines and energy storage. She proposed four asks for Pakistan: credit for delivery without binding national benchmarks, grants rather than loans, capital rather than more diagnostics, and trade measures that do not tax development, including opposition to CBAM-style measures.
Dr. Omais Abdur Rehman, Senior Associate in Renewable Energy Technologies and Lead Coordinator for PREC, presented Pakistan’s climate finance priorities on behalf of the paper’s author, his colleague Ms. Zainab Babar, Research Associate at SDPI, who could not join. He said Pakistan faces the dual pressure of disaster recovery and transition costs.
He called for climate finance to be provided as grants, for programme-based rather than project-based support, and for direct access to funds. He also stressed debt sustainability, transparent disbursement mechanisms and clear wording in negotiated texts.
On the Bridge mechanism, he said it is not yet an operational fund, and that Pakistan is among five pilot countries. He added that developing countries also need clear regulatory frameworks, bankable projects and blended finance structures to attract private capital.
Mohammad Hassan Dajjana, Intergenerational Research Fellow on Energy with the World Economic Forum’s Future 26 and Associate Industrial Liaison at Renewables First, discussed the quality, accessibility and debt sensitivity of climate finance. He said public climate finance over the past decade has consisted mostly of loans rather than grants.
He said Pakistan should demonstrate results from existing projects, such as those funded by the Green Climate Fund, build a pool of experts to speed up access to resources, and match instruments to purposes. He observed that early warning systems cannot be expected to meet bankability tests, while utility-scale storage may suit concessional loans. He suggested Pakistan approach donors with a range of options, including grants, concessional finance, debt-for-climate swaps and long-maturity loss and damage funds.
Faizan Ali Shah, Energy Advisor and Board Member at iSCOPE, said the recently approved Transmission System Expansion Plan requires roughly Rs3 trillion (about $10 billion) over seven to ten years. He said the power division’s allocation in this year’s PSDP was around Rs88 billion, of which Rs76.6 billion was foreign assistance.
He said foreign loans denominated in dollars expose consumers to exchange rate risk because debt servicing is recovered through tariffs. He said the government is therefore turning to domestic banks and capital markets, citing the Rs1.2 trillion facility signed with 18 banks in 2025 to address circular debt. According to him, bank deposits reached Rs40.8 trillion in September 2026, and the Rs3 trillion requirement is about 7 percent of that amount.
He called for stronger technical capacity to prepare grant proposals, with think tanks and academia supporting government. He also suggested a dedicated wing under the Ministry of Climate Change to oversee climate finance across ministries and set grant mobilisation targets.
Sohail Malik of the Climate Resourcing Coordination Center (CRCC), a technical expert on the subject, said the central issue is converting adaptation needs into proposals that financiers can appraise and provinces can implement. He cited 2022 figures showing that 69 percent of climate finance was provided as loans.
He proposed four steps: prioritising investments with risk-based evidence; financing project preparation rather than only concept notes; connecting priority programmes early with accredited entities and potential financiers; and designing delivery arrangements before approval. He suggested Pakistan make three asks at COP31, covering support to turn risk priorities into measurable programmes, preparation support for feasibility, safeguards and financial structuring, and practical access and capacity support through the GCF and Adaptation Fund. He added that Pakistan should arrive with its own prioritised provincial pipeline.
