Karachi, November 23 2023 — United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pakistan in collaboration with its partners at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and The Urban Unit conducted a Rapid Strategic Appraisal and Visioning Workshop to commence the development of a Climate Action Plan for Karachi city (K-CAP).

Climate Promise, UNDP’s global flagship initiative calling for bold climate action is engaged at the provincial and local levels in Pakistan to provide institutional support and strengthen climate change governance towards low-emission development. UNDP Pakistan’s Innovation-Accelerator Lab (AccLab) is committed to change the way we approach development for accelerated impact, through in-depth contextual research, human-centered lens and portfolio logic. Climate Promise and AccLab are jointly spearheading the development of K-CAP.

At the Rapid Strategic Appraisal & Visioning Workshop to launch K-CAP, priority stakeholders from government departments and civil society organisations based in Karachi participated to set the tone for the city’s long-term decarbonization strategy.

The workshop was conducted in two sessions with robust participation from government departments in the first session and civil society organizations in the second. The participants were engaged in interactive activities to identify gaps and prioritise the issues and challenges to draft their Long-term Vision Statements for a carbon-neutral Karachi city by 2050.

The K-CAP visioning workshop commenced with opening remarks from the Mayor of Karachi, Mr. Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui. He appreciated the initiative and stated that “this city, Pakistan’s largest metropolis, is our home, and we are committed to implementing solutions that are sustainable, that are practical and that are doable”. The Mayor assured KMC’s fullest cooperation and role as custodian and proponent of implementing the climate action plan and has also dedicated a core team to facilitate the development of K-CAP.

At the visioning workshop, Mr. Usman Manzoor, Programme Officer Climate Promise, UNDP gave an overview of Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Long-Term Strategy (LTS), and technical support being provided to the Government of Sindh through K-CAP and NDC Implementation Plan.

Shruti Narayan from C40 spoke virtually at the event and reiterated the opportune launch of the project for Karachi city and its citizens to embark on forging more resilient and evidence-based pathways for a green and inclusive future. The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the world's leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis. All C40 cities develop a Climate Action Plan that addresses the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the impacts of climate change and deliver wider social, environmental, and economic benefits.

Keeping in mind the unique challenges of the city, a dedicated Climate Action Plan for Karachi forms an integral part of Phase-II of UNDP Pakistan’s Climate Promise portfolio in collaboration with C40 Cities. The recommendations generated in the visioning workshop from both government and civil society organisations will be integrated into the K-CAP development process.

For additional information, please contact Shuja Hakim at Shuja.Hakim@undp.org  or +92 (51) 835 5657

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