ADB commissions NCAP’s review in collaboration with Ministry

Business Recorder reported that the Asian Development Bank has ordered a fresh independent assessment of the National Clean Air Policy, carried out jointly with the Climate Change Ministry. The review will examine governance arrangements and sector-level measures, with the goal of an implementation framework that is effective, measurable and enforceable in law. Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik made the remarks at a recent event organised by the ministry, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency and the ADB.

Malik said air pollution now ranks among the gravest environmental and public health threats globally. He cited a World Health Organisation figure showing 99 percent of people worldwide live where pollution goes beyond recommended limits, and said Pakistan faces a particularly serious challenge from recurring winter smog in Punjab and other areas. The country's first dedicated NCAP dates from 2023, and the government is weighing a National Clean Air Secretariat inside the ministry to improve coordination.

Pak-EPA Director General Syed Abrar Hussain noted that the federal cabinet gave its unanimous approval to the NCAP in March 2023 after consultations involving the provinces, AJK, GB, civil society, academics and private firms. He stressed that since provinces now carry much of the responsibility for monitoring, control and mitigation under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the policy requires closer federal-provincial coordination.