{"id":10588,"date":"2026-02-20T06:56:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T06:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alacpakistan.com\/event2024\/?page_id=10588"},"modified":"2026-02-20T07:23:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T07:23:17","slug":"parliamentary-consultative-meeting-on-carbon-markets-governance-in-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/alacpakistan.com\/event2024\/parliamentary-consultative-meeting-on-carbon-markets-governance-in-pakistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Parliamentary Consultative Meeting\u00a0on Carbon Markets Governance in Pakistan\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Parliamentary Consultative Meeting on Carbon Markets Governance in Pakistan<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Event Summary:\u00a0Parliamentary Consultative Meeting\u00a0on Carbon Markets Governance in Pakistan<\/span><\/b>\u00a0
Date:\u00a0February\u00a017,\u00a02026\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0
<\/span>Location:\u00a0Islamabad<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Transparency International Pakistan\u00a0convened\u00a0a\u00a0high level\u00a0consultative meeting with\u00a0honourable\u00a0parliamentarians on advancing carbon market governance and legislative readiness in Pakistan. The consultation builds on\u00a0TI Pakistan\u2019s\u00a0seminal report\u00a0on carbon market readiness and governance gaps. As Pakistan\u00a0has\u00a0moved\u00a0from policy formulation toward operationalizing carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the dialogue focused on the role of Parliament in providing the statutory foundation necessary for credible,\u00a0transparent\u00a0and inclusive market development\u00a0through legislation on Carbon Market Act.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The consultation\u00a0was attended by members of\u00a0National\u00a0Assembly and Senate Standing Committees\u00a0on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination as well as parliamentarians belonging to different political parties.\u00a0Opening the session, Professor Dr.\u00a0Uzma Shujaat, Board of Trustee, TI Pakistan\u00a0highlighted that carbon markets present an opportunity for Pakistan to mobilize climate finance and support low emission development, but only if supported by strong governance and transparent oversight. She stressed that Parliament\u2019s role is central in ensuring that carbon market systems protect national interests,\u00a0maintain\u00a0credibility\u00a0and deliver\u00a0equitable\u00a0benefits to communities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Mr\u00a0Kashif Ali, Executive Director\u00a0TI\u00a0Pakistan, presented the organization\u2019s climate governance work and legislative roadmap for parliamentarians.\u00a0He highlighted that the\u00a0legislative\u00a0road map\u00a0for parliamentarians developed by TI Pakistan\u00a0focuses on four key areas including legal recognition of carbon credits as legal assets. This requires Parliament\u00a0to enact\u00a0a Carbon Markets Framework Act that legally defines carbon\u00a0credits, Internationally Transmitted Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), and Verified Emission Reduction as intangible assets. The law should clearly\u00a0establish\u00a0ownership rules, distinguish public, private, and community-generated credits, and clarify their treatment in contracts, taxation, and dispute resolution.\u00a0He also\u00a0highlighted the need for the establishment of a national Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) and emissions baseline system aligned with Article 6, as well as the codification of benefit sharing and community safeguards, mandating benefit-sharing provisions for projects on public or communal land, with requirement for Free, Prior and Informed Consent, and grievance redress mechanisms aligned with international standards.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Presenting the broader climate governance landscape, Mr.\u00a0Hamid Sarfraz, Managing Partner Dev Consult,\u00a0explained that Pakistan\u2019s climate governance architecture\u00a0remains\u00a0fragmented across federal and provincial tiers, with weak coordination, limited climate finance\u00a0tracking\u00a0and insufficient data integration. He underscored the need for\u00a0strengthened\u00a0parliamentary oversight\u00a0through Council of Common Interests (CCI),\u00a0integrated institutional\u00a0mandates\u00a0and climate finance governance systems to support effective implementation of\u00a0NDC\u00a0commitments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Sharing technical insights on carbon market readiness,\u00a0Mr\u00a0Hamza Rafay Butt,\u00a0Climate & Nature Finance expert\u00a0with\u00a0UNEP-WCMC,\u00a0highlighted that Pakistan has significant potential to mobilize climate finance through carbon markets across sectors such as energy, forestry,\u00a0waste\u00a0and agriculture. He emphasized that market credibility depends on\u00a0consolidated\u00a0emissions baselines, integrated data systems, domestic MRV\u00a0capacity\u00a0and transparent governance frameworks. He further linked these readiness gaps to the proposed legislative roadmap priorities discussed in the consultation, including the need for a legally mandated national MRV and emissions baseline system, clear institutional roles and oversight, and statutory safeguards for transparency and benefit sharing. He noted that translating readiness findings into legislative action is essential to enable Pakistan to attract substantial international carbon finance while safeguarding integrity and inclusion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Providing the legislative perspective,\u00a0Mr\u00a0Syed Bulent Sohail outlined key gaps in Pakistan\u2019s climate and carbon market framework. He emphasized that policy guidelines alone cannot ensure legal certainty and\u00a0stressed\u00a0the need for\u00a0notifying carbon market rules. He also presented a detailed climate assessment of different policies and laws and highlighted that there is a need for our policy frameworks to include climate considerations.\u00a0He noted that such legal clarity is essential to reduce investor risk, strengthen international\u00a0credibility\u00a0and protect community rights.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The parliamentary discussion highlighted strong interest among\u00a0parliamentarians\u00a0in\u00a0carbon market governance and the need for an Act of the Parliament on\u00a0carbon markets aligned with national development priorities\u00a0and Article 6.\u00a0The need for coordination across federal and provincial institutions\u00a0and for\u00a0transparent data and reporting systems was also underscored.\u00a0The parliamentarians also\u00a0vowed to take up the issue at the parliament level in their individual capacity through individual member\u00a0bill,\u00a0resolutions\u00a0and other legal instruments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Closing the consultation, the Honorable Ms.\u00a0Munaza\u00a0Hassan, Chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination emphasized Parliament\u2019s\u00a0central role\u00a0in providing the statutory backbone for carbon markets and ensuring that climate finance contributes to national and community priorities. She thanked Transparency International Pakistan for engaging parliamentarians on the important topics of carbon markets and climate governance in Pakistan\u00a0and expressed her\u00a0strong support\u00a0for legislative process as well as future engagements to sensitize parliamentarians.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The consultation concluded with a shared recognition that Pakistan is entering a formative phase in carbon market development where legislative clarity, institutional coordination, transparent\u00a0systems\u00a0and inclusive governance will\u00a0determine\u00a0its ability to mobilize climate finance and deliver\u00a0equitable\u00a0climate benefits.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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