WB okays $120m for PM’s Green Stimulus initiative

Islamabad : The World Bank has announced all-out financial and technical support to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s countrywide initiatives for environmental conservation and protection and enhanced disaster resilience, especially Green Stimulus one, said country director of the bank Najy Benhassine.

Najy Benhassine disclosed this during a meeting with Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Climate Change here on Thursday.

Leading a Work Bank delegation, Najy Benhassine called on Malik Amin and conveyed the bank’s all-out support to Pakistan's green post-pandemic economic recovery initiative and afforestation and nature conservation programmes, particularly Green Stimulus project.

He said $120 million funding pledged by the bank for the Green Stimulus initiative had already been approved and could be utilised by the country to boost green jobs in the country for those rendered unemployed due to COVID-19 crisis by engaging them in the country’s green projects being implemented for conservation and protection of the nature.

He said the World Bank was highly impressed by the prime minister's vision for Clean Green Pakistan programme and various green projects initiated under the vision, particularly one of the world’s largest ambitious 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme.

“Having been impressed with the marvelous 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,” he said. The PM’s special assistant said the Green Stimulus initiative was launched last year in April after COVID-19 hit the country for creation of green jobs for those youth, who were rendered jobless from various sectors due to closure of business and assorted economic activities.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan had also approved the ‘Green Stimulus’ package in April this year as a part of the government’s efforts to extend green cover in the county, which has led to generation of 87,000 green jobs for the youth rendered unemployed because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

The PM’s aide said the climate change ministry had launched several other flagship programmes and projects, including the world’s largest afforestation programme of 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 another ambitious Protected Areas Initiative had also been launched under the umbrella programme ‘Green Pakistan’, which aims at the conservation and promotion of nature-based solutions and creation of additional 5,000 green jobs for community members in the protected areas.

“The PAI primarily aims to enhance the country’s protected areas cover from 13 per cent to 15 per cent by 2023 and create 5,000 green jobs across the country,” he said.

The World Bank delegates lauded the government’s green economic recovery and green jobs creation, afforestation and nature conservation as well as protection programme, which would hopefully help boost Pakistan’s resilience against adverse impacts of climate change on health, education, water, energy, agriculture, food security and energy sectors. Both sides vowed to collaborate towards combating deleterious aftermaths of the global health crisis of the 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 pandemic,” the bank's country head said.

He said the his organisation would utilise financial, technological and knowledge resources to support Pakistan through its resources and experiences in the overall post-pandemic green recovery through enhanced investment in green sectors, including forestry, environmental protection and climate change resilience through mitigation and adaptation initiatives in the country’s climate vulnerable socioeconomic sectors.