Pakistan’s federal cabinet on Thursday ratified the charter of the Middle East Green Initiative.
The initiative was announced in 2021 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with the aim to secure over $10.4 billion for an investment fund and clean energy project as part of efforts to reduce regional carbon emissions.
At the time of the plan’s announcement, the crown prince said the Kingdom, which is the world’s top oil exporter, would contribute 15% of the funds and would work with other states and development funds on the funding and execution of the initiatives.
The Middle East Green Initiative aims to reduce carbon emissions from regional hydrocarbon production by more than 60%. It also plans to plant 50 billion trees across the Middle East and restore an area equivalent to 200 million hectares of degraded land. The initiative will help reduce global carbon levels by 2.5%.
“The federal cabinet ratified the charter of the Middle East Green Initiative on the recommendation of the Ministry of Climate Change,” said a statement released by the office of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“The meeting was informed that Pakistan is one of the founding members of the said charter. Under this initiative, 200 million hectares of land area will be restored and 50 billion trees will be planted.”
Climate change is a major issue in Pakistan, causing extreme weather, droughts and rising temperatures. Although Pakistan contributes only about 0.88% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change.