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LAHORE, Nov 11 (APP): Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said that combating the hazardous effects of climate change has become central to every policy decision, emphasizing that the fight against smog is no longer a slogan but a mission.
She was addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Pakistan Pavilion at COP-30 conference in Belem, Brazil, said a handout issued here on Tuesday.
The CM said that the budget to combat smog has been increased from Rs 94 billion to Rs 123 billion, adding that Punjab’s forests are no longer silent and its lakes no longer still. She said the heartbeat of Punjab’s nature is returning to normalcy.
The CM said Punjab is shifting toward eco-friendly fuels and converting waste into energy. She noted that the Punjab Clean Air and E-Mobility Vision is being expanded across the province, and added that the government has established a practical system rather than relying on empty slogans. She announced that ten major automated rapid transit systems are being introduced in various cities, while landfill sites are being transformed into green forests and solar parks. Highlighting initiatives for clean water and sanitation, she said District Water and Sanitation Authorities have been set up in 41 districts and water and sanitation programs launched in 66 cities. She said 2,500 model villages are being developed where every household will have access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities.
CM Maryam Nawaz said that under Punjab’s Plastic Management Cell, more than 2.5 million citizens have pledged to reduce plastic use. She added that the Punjab Wildlife and Biodiversity Program has rescued over 35,000 birds and 700 animals, including 23 bears saved from captivity. She said the province is constructing South Asia’s largest wildlife hospital and establishing three wildlife rescue centers along with a helpline (1107). She said special environmental courts have been set up under the Punjab Wildlife Act and Protected Areas Act, with penalties of up to seven years imprisonment and fines of Rs 5 million for illegal wildlife trade and cruelty.
She said the survival of humanity is linked with the survival of rivers, air and the sky. Drawing parallels between the Amazon and the Indus River, she said both reflect how nature and humanity are inseparable.
The CM said that Pakistan contributes less than one percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet remains among the ten most climate-vulnerable countries. Referring to the catastrophic 2025 floods, she said 27 districts were submerged, affecting five million people, 3.3 million acres of land, and 2.4 million acres of crops. The provincial government conducted the largest rescue operation in Punjab’s history, relocating 2.6 million people and 2.1 million animals. “Instead of chaos, we witnessed coordinated institutional response and efficient governance,” she remarked. She added that Punjab drew crucial lessons from the 2025 floods, aiming not only to recover but to rebuild stronger. Through the Punjab Climate Resilient 2025 Initiative, the province is implementing preemptive and sustainable measures, integrating data governance and citizen support to transform crises into enhanced resilience and capability.
The CM, highlighting Punjab’s leadership in scientific climate management, said that 100 air quality monitoring stations are now connected to an AI-driven Smog War Room and South Asia’s first real-time Climate Observatory is being established in Lahore. The observatory will link the province with satellite and global sensor networks for accurate forecasting. She added that more than 8,500 Safe City cameras and thermal sensors are tracking pollution-prone areas, while the Punjab AQI app enables citizens to check air quality and report violations instantly. She added that each industry and brick kiln has been geo-tagged and QR-coded for continuous monitoring, and the province is collaborating with SUPARCO and NASA to monitor crop residue burning, which has been reduced by 65 percent.
Maryam Nawaz said that under the Climate-Smart Farming Program, 5,000 super seeders and 15 balers and mechanized harvesters have been provided to farmers, along with Rs. 80 billion interest-free loans for mechanization purpose. She said, “In a short time, our actions have not only cleared the skies but also built a new social contract between farmers, government and science,” adding that changing social behavior is now transforming Punjab’s rural landscape into a movement against climate change. She outlined that Punjab’s farmers are leading the creation of a new green economy, as the province’s “Green Revolution” turns into a proud, living story of transformation. She said that Punjab’s farmlands are witnessing an era of e-mechanization, where scientific innovation and administrative reforms are reaching from cities to villages. She noted that where fields were once ploughed by hand, high-powered tractors, rice transplanters and corn harvesters are now ushering in a new dawn of progress, adding that provision of silage machinery, dryers, pruners, sprayers, and pivot irrigation systems, Punjab’s farms have been transformed into hubs of technology and new hope.
The CM said that modern machinery is enhancing efficiency, competitiveness, and resilience in agriculture. “We are advancing towards an agriculture that meets food needs while protecting our land,” she said. She highlighted AI-and machine-learning-powered AQI monitors that detect environmental hazards, supported by a comprehensive network of cameras, sensors, satellites, and a centralized digital dashboard. She also announced the establishment of a Rs 12.5 billion Climate Endowment Fund to finance sustainability initiatives, emphasizing that resource allocation is critical for tangible climate action.
Highlighting Punjab’s Clean Air and E-Mobility Vision 2030, she said the province is electrifying its entire transport network for the first time in South Asia. Soon, 1,500 electric buses will operate across 42 cities, alongside 120,000 e-bikes and e-rickshaws, with 1,100 electric taxis and 10 automated rapid transit systems to follow. “We are providing youth and workers with affordable, zero-emission alternatives that create jobs while safeguarding the planet,” she added, noting that AI-powered route optimization, solar charging, and digital fare systems will support the e-mobility ecosystem.
On waste management, the CM said that Punjab generates over 50,000 tons of waste daily, half of which previously went uncollected. “Now, every city, street, and home is linked to the Suthra Punjab network, a new model of governance,” she said. Public-private collaboration has brought cleaner streets, over 150,000 green jobs, and locally manufactured sanitation vehicles, while the Lakhodair Carbon Market Pilot Project is generating methane and green energy. In its second phase, waste-to-fuel, biogas, compost, and recycling parks will further integrate Punjab into the global carbon economy.
The CM said, “I say with full confidence, Punjab’s journey toward sustainability has not reached its destination, it has just begun. For us, protecting the environment is no longer just policy, it has become our social language.”
She highlighted major breakthroughs in climate resilience, noting that advanced thermal imaging and early-warning sensors now detect heat and smoke before wildfires spread. Reflecting on Punjab’s environmental transformation, she said, “The voice of wildlife had faded, rivers had fallen silent, forests had shrunk, and the flight of birds had become rare. Today, the forests are breathing again.”
CM Maryam Nawaz added that AI drone surveys are now mapping wildlife habitats across the province, while the first Black Buck Drone Sensor is setting a global benchmark in conservation science. In partnership with IUCN, AI-powered wildlife sensors are creating live digital biodiversity maps, and ecotourism revival continues across Punjab.
She said projects worth over Rs 8.7 billion are transforming natural sites into eco-destinations, with new zoological and biodiversity parks bringing people closer to nature. She highlighted the 600-officer Wildlife Force enforcing conservation laws and invited global partners to join Punjab’s green transformation through the Special Investment Facilitation Council and Punjab Board of Investment and Trade. “Our world may be divided by geography, but the air is shared. Saving the planet is not charity, it is humanity’s survival,” she said, adding that true leadership lies in partnership with nature. “COP-30 must be a decade when humanity renews its covenant with nature and one another.”
The CM called for a union of “green hearts” from the forests of the Amazon to the fields of Punjab, urging a global alliance of empathy that transcends geography and politics. She said, “Let us turn every piece of waste into energy, teach every child to protect the environment with creativity, and plant trees in every forgotten village, trees that become our shared heritage. Let us rebuild our home, the Earth, with justice, hope, and humanity.” She urged the world to move “from identity to reconstruction, from despair to determination. From Belem to Punjab, from rivers to rainforests, let us breathe as one, build as one.” Highlighting the need for global equity, she added, “The time has come to re-balance the equation between the Global North and the Global South. The North must lead responsibly, and the South must contribute with innovation and resolve. Together, we can transform historical injustice into shared purpose, and shared purpose into the survival of our planet.”