DUBAI: In the Pakistan pavilion at COP28, carbon market experts took the stage on Monday to discuss the potential of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s forests to generate credits based on their carbon sequestration potential.

KP province, which holds more than half of Pakistan’s total forest cover, is planning to develop a new carbon-trading program, internationally regulated by the Paris Agreement.

Pakistan so far only has one major carbon-trading program – the Delta Blue Carbon project based on the coastal mangroves in Sindh.

The Sustainable Energy & Economic Development (SEED) program, in partnership with the Provincial Forestry department in KP, is implementing plans to change this, creating a new source of revenue for the government.

Climate market expert Leonie Nazemi emphasized, “We need to make sure communities are earning more from preserving that they are earning from cutting forests,” highlighting the potential of sustainable approaches to forest management.

Separately, in the Green Zone of the COP28 summit, a Pakistan-based electric bike startup has been garnering attention from delegates and visitors for its well-designed zero-emission motorbikes.

Vlektra, which is making modern e-bikes at its plant in Karachi, is the only Pakistani enterprise to be hosting an exhibit in the Startup Village, as part of the summit.

Syed Mohsin Raza, the founder of the startup, says that the enterprise aims to not just produce and sell bikes locally, but has also applied for approvals to foreign markets in order to explore export opportunities.

E-bikes, while having an expensive price tag, have significantly better energy economy and negligible on-road emissions, making them a suitable fit for Pakistani cities, where air pollution and fuel inflation has become a major concern for citizens.

Caretaker Minister for Climate Change Ahmad Imran Aslam also visited the enclosure and inspected models for local and foreign markets.

The Vlektra team highlighted how the bikes are designed to be charged at home, using a standard three-pin socket, circumventing the issue of limited charging infrastructure in the country.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2023