Pakistan has agreed to implement a series of climate-focused and transparency-enhancing reforms in line with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) demands, top official sources confirmed.
As part of the agreement, all new infrastructure projects exceeding Rs7.5 billion must upload their Planning Commission (PC-1) documents on the commission’s website. The government will also improve project appraisals and climate screening to prioritize infrastructure with the highest impact.
In addition, Pakistan and the IMF have agreed to expand the federal budget tagging system to cover grants and subsidies, with provincial expenditures to follow suit.
To promote climate-conscious development, the government will update project selection criteria for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), ensuring that climate change considerations make up at least 30% of the evaluation for infrastructure projects.
A transparent scoring system will be introduced to assess projects, and by August 2026, Pakistan will publish these scores along with detailed selection reports for projects approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
The government also plans to introduce a carbon fee in the next budget and will track climate-damaging expenditures. By August 2027, all major new infrastructure projects must include assessments for climate vulnerability, adaptation, and mitigation as a condition for PSDP inclusion.
