World Bank highlights coordination gaps between ministries hindering clean tech adoption in Pakistan

• Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh rank among countries with the highest loss in life expectancy due to air pollution

The World Bank has raised concerns over the lack of coordination between environmental and industrial ministries in Pakistan, which it says is delaying the country’s transition to cleaner, less polluting technologies. A report titled “A Breath of Change: Solutions for Cleaner Air in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills” points out that overlapping mandates among these ministries complicate efforts to tackle industrial emissions and environmental challenges.

The report, which focuses on the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and Himalayan Foothills, calls for a more streamlined approach to achieving cleaner energy solutions in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. 

It highlights that Pakistan’s industrial emissions monitoring and inspection system remains in its early stages and is incomplete, making it difficult to implement effective measures for pollution control. A key recommendation from the report is that Pakistan and Bangladesh explore a combination of refinery upgrades and fuel imports to meet Euro V/VI fuel standards. 

Additionally, transitioning to cleaner brick kilns, boilers, and power generation methods requires overcoming significant financial, technical, and institutional barriers across the region.

The report also sheds light on the severe health risks posed by air pollution in South Asia. It is now the leading risk factor for deaths in the region, surpassing smoking, diet, and high blood pressure. According to the report, air pollution has caused 190 deaths per 100,000 people in South Asia, compared to a global average of 92 per 100,000.

Pakistan, along with Nepal and Bangladesh, is among the countries with the highest loss in life expectancy due to air pollution, with a reduction of nearly three years in the IGP-HF countries, much higher than the global average of 1.8 years. In Pakistan, approximately 95% of students, around 22.4 million children, are exposed to hazardous levels of air pollution, further underscoring the urgency of addressing this issue.

The report also identifies transport-related emissions as a significant contributor to the region’s pollution, with outdated vehicle emission standards and high-sulfur fuels in use across Pakistan and Bangladesh. The lack of adequate charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) further limits efforts to reduce transport emissions.

Moreover, the fragmented oversight between transport and environmental agencies in Pakistan, as well as uneven implementation of solid waste management policies, has hindered the development of a unified strategy for improving urban air quality and traffic management.