ISLAMABAD: World Bank on Friday, has agreed to facilitate an international conference with collaboration of Ministry of Climate Change Pakistan to attract potential international donors to arrange finances for funding key environmental projects in the country. It was decided in a meeting of World Bank delegation with Federal Minister/Adviser to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam Khan at the Ministry of Climate Change. Climate Change Federal Secretary Shahrukh Nusrat and Additional Secretary Khurram Ali Agha were also present in the meeting. The delegation was led by World Bank Strategy & Operations Director Anna Wellenstein who called on the minister/Advisor to PM on Climate Change to discuss common modalities for future cooperation in climate related projects. Malik Amin Aslam Khan apprised the delegates that environment is a major part of “our party’s 11 points’ agenda which we are going to implement now. Initially, we successfully completed the One Billion Tree Tsunami Projects in Khyber Pakhtunkwa which was appreciated globally and now we are up scaling this in to a 10 Billion Tsunami Tree Plantation Project to implement at national level. While on the other hand, to fulfil our international commitments, we have initiated another flagship programme called Clean Green Pakistan. Imran Khan is going to inaugurate it by tomorrow (Saturday)”. While sharing the salient features of Clean Green Pakistan, he said that this initiative will focus on five major areas which include plantation, solid and liquid waste management, clean water and hygiene. The minister further said that “we are well aware of climate challenges and have very clear agendas to deal with these issues. We are also focusing on adaptation side as well”. He said that 90 percent water comes from Tarbela and goes directly to the Arabian Sea. Unfortunately we have not developed any mechanism to store that water. But now we have a comprehensive plan to store flood water in our wetlands under the Recharge Pakistan project which we have sent to Green Climate Fund through the World Wide Fund. Amin Aslam Khan further said that by keeping in view the drastically changing climate situation, “we are thinking alternative energy means. In KP, we built 350 small hydropower units on running rivers and we will also upscale that model at national level in the next phase and to implement all these agendas, we need global support of potential donors”. Anna Wellenstein suggested that the World Bank is ready to arrange an international conference with collaboration of Ministry of Climate Change where “we can present Pakistan’s case and seek international assistance from potential donors and both the sides principally agreed on the proposal”. The minister also requested the World Bank to extend cooperation to deal with the smog issue which the people of Punjab are facing these days under the Green Punjab Project of World Bank. Published in Daily Times, October 13th 2018.