Ministry makes arrangements to launch Green Stimulus Initiative in October

Islamabad : The climate change ministry has made all necessary arrangements to launch Green Stimulus Initiative in October that would help generate 200,000 jobs across the country.

According to the details shared by the climate change ministry, Prime Minister Imran Khan would inaugurate the Green Stimulus Initiative for which the ministry has finalized a plan in coordination with the provincial governments. The funds required to implement this initiative have been arranged and now it will enter into the implementation stage. There are already various ongoing projects that had been launched in the first phase of Green Stimulus Initiative by the federal government.

This phase of the initiative will also focus on job creation and restoration of the natural ecosystems. The focal areas for intervention include plantation of trees, revival of protected areas, and improvement in sanitation facilities. The targeted beneficiaries will be the unemployed youth and women and the daily wagers who have lost their jobs due to coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic allowed Pakistan to reinvigorate an ailing economy with a Green Stimulus Initiative. For financing the Green Stimulus, the climate change ministry envisioned three phases, all of which are now in place with specialized funding options. The funds acquired for the initiative will support the expansion of the tree plantation drives as well as the ecological preservation of the recently announced fifteen national parks. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam has said that Pakistan has received 120 million dollar from World Bank for Green Stimulus Initiative, to be launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan next month that would create 200,000 jobs.

“The Green Stimulus Initiative will help achieve the countrywide target of planting 1.5 billion trees by the year-end. We have also done all the preparatory work in collaboration with the provinces for its inauguration,” he said.