The minister said that while the developed world had reaped the benefits of industrialization, every country was impacted by carbon emissions.
Fourth Asian Infrastructure Investment (AIIF) report was launched jointly by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).
Even though developing and underdeveloped nations have contributed very little to global carbon emissions, they still bear the heaviest burden of the effects of climate change.
The State Minister for Petroleum Division commented on the fourth Asian Infrastructure Investment (AIIF) report, “Moonshots for the Emerging World: Transforming State Capacity and Mobilizing the Private Sector Toward Net Zero,” which was held on Monday
The minister said that while the developed world had reaped the benefits of industrialization, every country was impacted by carbon emissions.
Since we are all in this together, the minister said, “We understand that contributions towards the net-zero transition come from every economy, but there should also be a realization that this transition should be just in nature.”
According to him, no country can simply start tracking carbon emissions tomorrow and demand that all economies decarbonize at the same rate, regardless of level of development, in order to solve the world’s serious problems.
The minister emphasized that even the current targets will not be sufficient to shield the world from the catastrophic effects of climate change and that we are living in very uncertain times.
According to him, some economies in the past experienced faster economic growth and higher levels of development, but at a higher cost in terms of global pollution and environmental deterioration. The developed world benefited most from increased economic growth, but the entire planet was responsible for the costs associated with environmental degradation and climate change.
He insisted that although the economies left behind did not significantly increase pollution, they have been negatively impacted by the deteriorating climate and are now left to fend for themselves.
Erik Berglöf, the chief economist at the AIIB, shared the report’s main conclusions with the audience during his presentation.
The report persuasively argues for the acceleration and scaling up of the state capacity as well as the collective global effort needed to accelerate the net zero transition through insight and data in its key findings and points.
It demonstrates how public-private partnerships (PPPs) can collaborate with state-owned enterprises and financial institutions (SOEs and SOFIs) through innovative and technology adoption frameworks to create moonshots—inspiring, once-in-a-generation project breakthroughs—that can decarbonize emerging world economies and give them new impetus for development and growth.
It also emphasises why international multilateral development banks (MDBs) are essential for facilitating broader institutional reform because of their financial resources, convening influence, and investments in green innovation.
The “moonshots” listed in the report describe what governments, particularly those in developing nations, can do to start making the switch from fossil fuels to energy sources that emit less carbon.
The report makes it a point to encourage state-owned organisations and businesses to start implementing green policies, such as reducing their reliance on fossil fuels. Additionally, they must put more effort into assisting with national environmental sustainability projects.
The report also urged central banks and national banks, which are state-owned financial institutions, to reallocate funds and investments from fossil fuel projects and increase their spending on clean energy production initiatives.
In addition, the private sector must contribute to the goal of net zero by putting in place green initiatives along the entire value chain, from sourcing energy to providing services. According to Berglöf, the net-zero transition must be pushed by a collaborative effort between central banks, national development banks, sovereign wealth funds, and state-owned commercial banks.
The net-zero process also requires the mobilization of private capital, and these state-owned institutions must collaborate with the private sector.
A population’s behavior must change as well because individuals in households and businesses must assume some responsibility in order to achieve success. But to a greater extent, governments and sizable private institutions engaged in greenhouse gas-producing industries must take action in order to adapt to these changes.