Business Recorder
ISLAMABAD: In a first, Pakistan has signed with Norway a bilateral agreement that allows Pakistan to enter into carbon trading with other countries. The said agreement has been signed under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement that enables the countries to bilaterally trade emissions reductions. “This agreement would strengthen Pakistan’s position in international carbon markets and create new opportunities for the country’s emerging green economy,” said Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik at the signing ceremony of a related Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries on Wednesday. Under the agreement, Pakistan will be able to develop carbon-credit generating projects in sectors such as clean energy, agriculture, transport and waste management, and potentially sell the resulting emission reductions to Norway, he said. Pakistan has already put in place the country’s first national policy guidelines for carbon trading, approved by the federal cabinet in January 2025, and is now moving to establish rules, reporting systems and bilateral arrangements needed to operationalise the market, the minister said. Speaking on the occasion, Norway’s Ambassador to Pakistan Per Albert Ilsaas said, the agreement marks the beginning of a new era in bilateral environmental cooperation. “Pakistan is among the countries most affected by climate change, and we believe this partnership can deliver both measurable emission reductions and real development benefits,” he said. Norway aims to become climate neutral by 2030, seeking to purchase Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6, not to meet its formal climate targets but to go beyond them, the ambassador said. Norway’s Global Emission Reduction Initiative, launched in 2024 with a budget of USD 1.5 billion approved by the Norwegian Parliament, would provide carbon finance to countries such as Pakistan, said the diplomat. “Through NOGER, we want to channel carbon finance into countries such as Pakistan and help bridge the gap in climate mitigation finance,” he said. The ambassador invited Pakistan to present renewable energy initiatives such as the Zhenfa Solar Project and the Indus Wind Energy Project as possible ventures for future cooperation. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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