Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services Islamabad : AMBASSADOR BLOME: Minister Malik, Coordinator Khurshid, Senator Rehman, World Wildlife Fund Vice President Black, Coordinator Alam, Director General Khan, Coca Cola Foundation Senior Director Sarwari, Ladies and Gentlemen, Assalam-o-alaikum!
Before I begin, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge our host, the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services — an independent, first-of-its-kind research and training facility for parliamentarians, constructed with funding from the United States. PIPs has provided training to more than 800 parliamentarians and staff, and conducted hundreds of policy research projects for members of parliament. Thank you for welcoming us today.
I am delighted to be here as we join our partners in launching Recharge Pakistan – an ambitious climate initiative that will strengthen flood resilience and improve water security in some of Pakistan’s most vulnerable communities.
Groundwater is critical to providing families with clean drinking water, to irrigating crops, and to raising livestock. Much like a battery, groundwater powers the land, enables crops to grow, and provides clean water so people can not only survive but thrive.
As a result of the climate crisis, nature is losing its ability to recharge the battery. Hard ground does not capture water. Instead, water runs downhill along the surface and turns into floods that devastate peoples’ lives and livelihoods. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can restore and rebuild nature’s ability to capture rainwater, filter it, and return it to the ground – making it available for families, to farmers, and to livestock. And that’s exactly what we’ll do – together with our partners – through Recharge Pakistan.
Recharge Pakistan’s network of green infrastructure projects will rehabilitate floodwater channels, rerouting excess water away from where people live and work. It will reforest and restore wetlands to prevent dangerous runoff. It will revitalize the soil’s ability to absorb excess water and store it underground. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 52,900 tons of carbon dioxide. And it will replenish the water supply by creating 127 new groundwater storage basins.
All told, Recharge Pakistan will reduce flooding hazards for more than 50,000 hectares. It will provide Pakistani families, businesses, and farms access to clean, fresh water year-round. And it will improve the livelihoods of 687,000 people and indirectly benefit more than seven million people across the provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh.
The United States’ partnership with Pakistan on water management has a long history dating back to the 1960s. Our collaboration on the Mangla, Tarbela, Gomal Zam and Satpara dams provides more than 95 percent of Pakistan’s water storage capacity, generates clean energy, mitigates floods, and bolsters Pakistan’s economy.
In recent years, through the U.S.-Pakistan “Green Alliance” framework, we’ve partnered with both industry and the Government of Pakistan on renewable energy, smart agriculture and water management. Our efforts have created new opportunities for Pakistani businesses to access climate financing from offshore, opening up new opportunities and creating jobs. We have supported startup businesses to bring new technologies and skills to Pakistan’s labor force. The United States has provided $5 billion to the Green Climate Fund. And together, we are bringing new investment in renewable energy to help Pakistan achieve its ambitious goal of reaching 60 percent renewable energy by 2030.
“Recharge Pakistan” builds on that strong partnership, with an additional $5 million U.S. contribution that demonstrates our enduring commitment to building a brighter, more prosperous future for the Pakistani people.
As the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is already feeling the effects of the climate crisis every day. 2022’s devastating floods displaced more than eight million people and caused more than $15 billion in economic damage. Rising temperatures have taken a toll on Pakistan’s majestic glaciers. And Pakistani farmers have seen crops wither under droughts.
But by coming together, we can help communities adapt, mitigate, and even reverse some of the worst impacts of climate change. And we can do it in a way that lifts up local communities.
I’d like to thank the team at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination and the WWF, whose hard work over the past five years with affected communities to identify project sites, and build out plans, laid the groundwork to make the ideas behind Recharge Pakistan a reality.
Building a coalition of common action is critical to meeting the climate crisis head on. And the United States is proud to join forces with Coca-Cola, Green Climate Fund, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Government of Pakistan on this landmark initiative.
The United States will continue to broaden and deepen our partnership with Pakistan to protect climate-vulnerable communities, and build a greener, more prosperous and climate resilient future.
