World Bank approves $120mln for PM’s Green Stimulus Initiative

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has approved funding of $120 million pledged for Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Green Stimulus initiative to boost green jobs in the country for those rendered unemployed due to the Covid-19 crisis, a statement said.

World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine told PM’s Special Assistant on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam on Thursday that the bank would provide all-out financial and technical support for various green initiatives launched for environmental conservation as well as for enhanced disaster resilience.

He met the special assistant at the Ministry of Climate Change.

“Having been impressed with the marvellous green initiatives of the incumbent government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, we at the World Bank are mulling over replication of Pakistan’s green initiatives in other countries in different parts of the world,” Benhassine said.

Explaining about the Green Stimulus initiative, Aslam said the initiative was launched last year in April after Covid-19 spread in Pakistan. The aim was to create green jobs for youth, who were rendered jobless in various sectors due to the closure of business and assorted economic activities. The initiative has generated 87,000 green jobs, he added. The ministry had launched several other flagship programmes and projects, including the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, Clean Green Pakistan Programme to achieve environmental sustainability and climate resilience through conservation and protection of environment, forests and wildlife.

He said that another ambitious Protected Areas Initiative (PAI) had also been launched under the umbrella programme ‘Green Pakistan’, which aimed to conserve and promote nature-based solutions and creation of additional 5,000 green jobs for the communities in protected areas. “The ambitious PAI primarily aims to enhance the country’s protected areas cover from 13 percent to 15 percent by 2023 and create 5,000 green jobs across the country.”

Benhassine said the projects would likely boost Pakistan’s resilience against adverse impacts of climate change in health, education, water, energy, agriculture, food security and energy sectors.

Both sides vowed to collaborate on combating deleterious aftermaths of the global health crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic and global warming on various socioeconomic sectors.

“It’s really inspiring that despite limited financial resources, Pakistan launched Green Stimulus Initiative under Clean Green Programme, which has led to creation of thousands of green jobs for those rendered unemployed due to the pandemic,” the World Bank official remarked.

He said his organisation would utilise financial, technological and knowledge resources to support Pakistan in post Covid-19 green recovery.

Last week, Pakistan signed seven project agreements worth $1.336 billion including $128 million grant with the World Bank for supporting initiatives in social protection, disaster and climate risk management, and improving infrastructure for agriculture, human capital development, and governance.