Islamabad: Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar has called for enforcement of stringent policy measures to mitigate heat-trapping vehicular emissions to tackle smog, which, he said, has become a major health issue.
Chairing a meeting of National Climate Change Policy Implementation Committee here, the minister noted that smog has emerged a serious environmental and public health concern, affecting millions of lives every year in the country, causing billions in the economic losses, disrupting road and air traffic.
He, however, said it was imperative that immediate and impactful actions were taken by all relevant government organisations to reduce the sources of smog and air pollution. Climate change secretary Aisha Humera Moriani highlighted the progress on the implementation of the National Climate Change policy 2021 and the outcomes of federal and provincial climate action plans framed in the light of the climate change policy 2021, which outlined the strategic direction for coping with adverse impacts of climate change across various sectors.
“As of 2025, the climate change and environmental coordination ministry in close partnership with provincial governments and other stakeholders has made notable strides in both policy implementation and practical interventions to combat climate change, in line with the global climate goals set under the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals,” she said. She said for renewable energy base expansion in the country efforts have already been ramped up to transition to renewable energy sources, with significant investments in solar, wind, and hydropower projects.
"The government's push to achieve a 30 percent share of renewables in the energy mix by 2030 is well on track, with new projects coming online and policy frameworks encouraging public-private partnership for implementation of various green initiatives," she said. The secretary said manufacturing and use of electric vehicles, particularly two-wheelers and three-wheelers, in the country was picking up the pace as the government was providing attractive incentives, including tax exemptions and reduced customs duties for EV manufacturers and importers to mitigate transport sector’s growing carbon emissions.
Representatives of various relevant federal and provincial organisations including ministry of industries and production, ministry of energy, national highway and motorway police, federal and provincial environmental protection agencies, provincial transport and mass transit departments and authorities unanimously agreed that adoption of mandatory vehicle emission standards was inevitable to control aggravating air quality issue.
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