KARACHI: Net Zero Pakistan — a national collaboration between pioneering companies, public institutions, and sectoral experts to deliver the goal of net zero carbon for Pakistan by 2050 — has been announced as an official Accelerator of the UN-backed Race to Zero campaign.

Launched in August 2021, it’s the first region-wide initiative from the Global South to be recognised under this platform.

So far, 22 companies, which collectively contribute 15-20 per cent to the country’s exports, have signed up to Net Zero Pakistan (NZP).

The signatories include AGI Denim, Al-Karam Textile, Al-Karam Towel, Al-Rahim Textile, Artistic Milliners, Crescent Bahuman, Interloop, Gohar Textile, Gul Ahmed, Liberty Mills, Lucky Textile, Mahmood Group, Masood Roomi, Midas Safety, Sadaqat Limited, Sapphire Finishing, Sapphire Textile, Siddiqsons, Soorty Enterprises, Tetra Pak, US Apparel, and Yunus Textile.

“We are thrilled about our partnership with Race to Zero, and proud to be moving towards a resilient zero-carbon recovery,” said Talha Khan, the Executive Director of Pakistan Environment Trust (PET), a non-profit organisation that convened the NZP coalition.

“Being a part of Race to Zero will give the member-companies of Net Zero Pakistan access to a global network of sustainability leaders. It’s an opportunity to share knowledge and build alliances at a global scale,” he added.

NPZ seeks to provide a host of benefits to its members by enabling the transition to sustainable renewable energy, boosting export quality, capping industrial pollution and making the local economy sustainable as a whole.

The coalition aims to mobilise $1 billion of catalytic finance to drive industrial decarbonisation, enable companies to demonstrate their sustainability credentials to global buyers, as well as nurture a good environment for effective climate policy action.

In parallel, PET is developing a voluntary carbon offset market in Pakistan and is working on ecosystem restoration with a focus on species reintroduction and animal conservation.

“Our campaign accelerators are critical to winning the Race to Zero and so we are delighted to welcome Net Zero Pakistan as our latest Accelerator. COP26 marked the starting line; now, the race is on to rapidly reduce emissions and reach a resilient net-zero world in time,” said the UN Race to Zero Climate Action Champion Nigel Topping.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2022