‘Provinces now primary policy executors for climate targets set by Centre’

Former federal minister for climate change Sherry Rehman on Thursday said Pakistan’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) would be best implemented when provinces develop their own provincially determined contributions (PDCs).

Sherry was speaking at a workshop organised by the British Deputy High Commission on Pakistan’s NDCs under the Paris Agreement, bringing together over 25 representatives from government departments and ministries across all four provinces.

The ex-minister, who was the chief guest, emphasised that policy formulation alone is insufficient, unless its benefits reach the people. She highlighted that each province faces unique challenges, and without granting them policy autonomy, solutions would remain ineffective.

She pointed out that Balochistan suffers from severe water scarcity, while in northern Pakistan timber mafias pose a significant environmental threat. “Textbook policies alone can’t resolve these issues,” she remarked, stressing the need for practical, locally tailored solutions.

She noted that the world is still relatively new to managing climate risks and setting NDCs, which represent commitments to the Paris Agreement’s goals. She said that these must be both national and provincial commitments.

She explained that Pakistan made its NDCs mandatory to protect its population from the unpredictable extreme weather events that accompany climate change. However, she stressed, provincial contributions in policymaking, especially on climate and environmental issues, must go beyond mere inputs.

“Provinces need to do more than just provide inputs,” she said, explaining that when the federal government sets new NDCs, it must have a clear roadmap to ensure their implementation. “For this roadmap the federal government needs substantial input from provinces, rather than from other stakeholders.”

She also emphasised that when policies are formulated with inputs from civil society actors and bureaucrats, they become national policies, as mandated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“Provinces exist in a very dynamic, if not volatile, climate environment,” she said, adding that they are facing unprecedented existential risks at ground level, despite Pakistan being a minor global emitter.

She asserted that provinces are now the primary policy executors for any climate targets set by the Centre. She said Pakistan’s NDCs would be best implemented when provinces develop their own PDCs.

She explained that the federal government’s role should be to provide indicative guidelines while allowing the provinces to tailor solutions to their specific environmental challenges.

Highlighting Pakistan’s diverse topography, from mountains to deltas, she noted that climate challenges and their solutions vary significantly across regions. She said that the core focus should be on resilience, adaptation and mitigation efforts to combat climate change effectively.

She also stressed the importance of giving provinces ownership over their climate commitments, enabling them to fulfil their share of NDCs. She explained that this can be achieved if the provinces submit their PDCs to the federation, which would then play its collective role in implementing the NDCs.