Centre allows Sindh to earn $200m through carbon credits
In the absence of an approved policy, the federal government has allowed Sindh to earn $200-220 million (about Rs57-63 billion) of carbon credits over the next two decades for its efforts to expand mangrove forests under Pakistan’s commitments for unconditional contribution to a global drive for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2021, the Ministry of Climate Change submitted the nationally determined contributions (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The ministry pledged that 15pc of the carbon credits generated — i.e. reducing around 240 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent — in the country will be Pakistan’s unconditional contribution towards the NDCs. Major sectors included in this reduction are energy, industry, forests, agriculture and transport. NDCs are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of its long-term goals. They embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.