Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has told the COP31 climate summit in Antalya that Pakistan added nearly 22 gigawatts of rooftop solar capacity in just two years, describing it as “a quiet revolution by ordinary citizens”.
Mr Sharif was addressing the high-level dialogue “35 by 35: Powering the Future” at the summit in the Turkish city on Wednesday, 11 November. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support for the “35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge”, under which electricity would supply about 35 per cent of total final energy consumption by 2035.
The prime minister said Pakistan needs about $138 billion by 2035 for low-carbon power, plus a further $50 billion to replace coal with solar energy, a total of roughly $188 billion. He called for concessional financing and affordable technology transfer so that countries like Pakistan can reach 35 per cent clean energy by 2035.
Clean sources now make up about 55 per cent of Pakistan’s energy mix, Mr Sharif said, and the government’s auto policy aims for 30 per cent of new vehicles to be electric by 2030. Before travelling to Antalya, he inaugurated a section of Pakistan’s seventh nuclear power plant, adding 1,200 megawatts to the grid.
The 22-gigawatt figure is the prime minister’s own, and it has not been independently verified. It refers to rooftop solar installations, which have spread rapidly across Pakistani homes and businesses as electricity prices have risen and panels have become cheaper.
Earlier in the day, Mr Sharif was received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who holds the COP31 presidency, and by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Leaders gathered for a group photograph before the summit sessions began.
He also delivered Pakistan’s national statement at the Leaders’ Summit, stressing climate justice for countries that have contributed little to global warming but suffer its worst effects. Pakistan is among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, despite producing less than one per cent of global emissions.
On the sidelines of the summit, Mr Sharif met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, stressing the Islamabad memorandum of understanding and regional de-escalation, and held meetings with Kuwaiti and other world leaders. Around 200 countries are represented at the summit in Antalya.
Mr Sharif was accompanied by Senator Sherry Rehman, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and adviser Tariq Fatemi. A Pakistan Pavilion at the summit is hosting 54 events over the course of the conference.
The address was the centrepiece of Pakistan’s presence at COP31, and its message was aimed as much at the world’s lenders as at its fellow governments: that countries on the front line of climate change cannot make the clean-energy transition without finance they can afford.
