Islamabad: Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar has called for enforcement of stringent policy measures to mitigate heat-trapping vehicular emissions to tackle smog, which has become a grave health nuisance.
Chairing a recent 10th meeting of National Climate Change Policy Implementation Committee (NCCPIC) held here, he noted that smog has emerged a serious environmental and public health concern, affecting millions of lives every year in the country, causing billions in the economic losses, disrupting road and air traffic.
However, it was imperative that immediate and impactful actions were taken by all relevant government organisations to reduce the sources of smog and air pollution.
During the meeting, Secretary MoCC and EC Aisha Humera Moriani presented detailed overview of the progress on the implementation of the National Climate Change policy 2021and the status/outcomes of federal and provincial climate action plans framed in the light of the climate change policy 2021, which outlines the strategic direction for coping with adverse impacts of climate change across various sectors.
'As of 2025, the climate change and environmental coordination ministry in close partnership with provincial governments and other stakeholders has made notable strides in both policy implementation and practical interventions to combat climate change, in line with the global climate goals set under the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),' MoCC and EC Secretary Aisha Humera Moriani informed the meeting.
Spelling out various policy measures, she explained that for renewable energy base expansion in the country efforts have already been ramped up to transition to renewable energy sources, with significant investments in solar, wind, and hydropower projects.
The government's push to achieve a 30 percent share of renewables in the energy mix by 2030 is well on track, with new projects coming online and policy frameworks encouraging public-private partnership for implementation of various green initiatives, she added.
The MoCC and EC secretary also briefed the meeting chair about the status of National Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy-2019.
She highlighted manufacturing and use of EVs, particularly two-wheelers and three-wheelers, in the country was already picking up the pace as government was providing attractive incentives, including tax exemptions and reduced customs duties for EV manufacturers and importers to mitigate transport sector's growing carbon emissions.
'All-out efforts are being made by the ministry in partnership with relevant federal and provincial stakeholders to promote EVs as part of the present government's commitment to reducing the environmental impact of transportation, promoting renewable energy, and fostering a cleaner, more sustainable future for the country,' Aisha Humera Moriani informed the meeting.
During the meeting, representatives of various relevant federal and provincial organisations including ministry of industries and production, ministry of energy, national highway and motorway police, federal and provincial environmental protection agencies, provincial transport and mass transit departments/authorities unanimously agreed that adoption of mandatory vehicle emission standards was inevitable to control aggravating air quality issue.
While agreeing to the enforcement of the mandatory vehicle emission standards in the country, the law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said, 'A nationwide enforcement of stringent emissions standards for all vehicles, including stricter compliance monitoring and regular vehicle inspections to ensure conformity with Euro-5 or higher standards is inevitable to improve the country's air quality, mitigate heat-trapping carbon emissions and tackle recurring smog issue.
Earlier, during the meeting, the Director General (Oil) at the Petroleum Division, Imran Ahmed informed the meeting chair that Pakistan consumes annually a total of 13.2 million tons of fuel consisting of 7.1 million tons of petrol and 6.1 million tons of diesel.
Both the imported and locally produced petrol meet Euro-5 standards, the official said, adding that while the imported diesel complies with Euro-5 standards, the local diesel production struggles to meet Euro-2 standards, one key contributor of bad air quality in the country,
'It is for this reason that, despite the relatively small number of diesel-run vehicles in the country, there are higher emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx) and other pollutants from the diesel-run vehicles using the sub-standard diesel that degrade ambient air particularly in urban areas of the country,' the director general (Oil), Ministry of Energy, remarked during his presentation to the NCCPIC meeting.
Revealing details about the existing fuel quality and standards in the country, the senior official said that Euro-5 fuel being consumed in the transport sector accounts for just 40 percent while the 60 percent of the fuel consumed Euro-2 and Euro-3 standard. This situation underscores the urgent need for upgradation of local fuel refineries to align with regional fuel standards and to manage petroleum resources more effectively, he highlighted.
Highlighting the need for increasing the Euro-5 standard quality fuel in the country, the law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar urged the petroleum ministry representatives that all-out efforts must be made to increase Euro-5 fuel all over the present government's commitment towards reducing urban air pollution, with significant reductions in vehicular emissions.
Euro 5 fuel is a fuel quality standard that reduces harmful emissions from vehicles and has lower levels of sulfur, benzene, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. This not only help reduce harmful emissions from vehicles but also is crucial for tackling air pollution.
The General Manager of Engineering Development Board (EDB) informed the NCCPIC about government's various measures taken under the National Electric Vehicle Policy- 2019, which provided tax incentives for EVs.
Azam Nazeer Tarar directed the representatives of the federal energy ministry to expediate the process for approval of New Energy Policy so that EVs and hybrid vehicles of various types including EV-based Mass Transit System (MTS) and commercial vehicle fleet are promoted countrywide as a part of the present government's vision for environmentally cleaner, healthier Pakistan.
