Islamabad, 3 December 2025(Ghufran): Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman, has urged an immediate and nationwide transition toward sustainable, circular, and climate-resilient construction practices while addressing the Pakistan Sustainability Summit in Islamabad.
Senator Rehman emphasized that the Summit’s core focus must remain on sustainable construction, stressing that Pakistan stands at a decisive moment in its climate and urbanization trajectory. “Pakistan already has Green Building Codes, but implementation is extremely low. According to the Climate Risk Index 2025, Pakistan is the most climate-impacted country in the world,” she stated.
Highlighting the urgency of reform, she noted that the industrial sector contributes 38% of Pakistan’s total energy-related CO₂ emissions, while 49% of national emissions originate from the cement industry alone. She stressed that this makes it essential for the country to shift its construction practices toward sustainability.
Senator Rehman underscored that Pakistan’s rapid urbanization—39% of the population is urban, rising to 88% when population density and concentration metrics are included, according to the World Urbanization Report, with nearly 42% of the country classified as peri-urban—demands a radical rethinking of planning and growth models.
“Urbanization is happening fast, especially in peri-urban regions where expanding settlements resemble towns without proper waste disposal systems. These issues must be addressed urgently,” she remarked. She further noted that Pakistan is among the fastest urbanizing nations in Asia, making sustainability essential at every level of planning and construction.
Referring to the devastating 2022 floods, she reminded participants that fragile and poorly located structures were destroyed within moments. “A hotel collapsed in seconds during the 2022 floods. Why was construction allowed there? Shockingly, the same failures repeated during the 2025 floods. This shows the private sector still isn’t alarmed.” She called on the government to ensure resilient infrastructure and warned against the dangerous practice of building on floodplains and stormwater paths.
Calling for circular construction models, Senator Rehman stressed the need to integrate reduce, reuse, and recycle principles into the national building codes. “Reducing waste, improving material efficiency, and adopting regenerative models is no longer optional — it is imperative.”
She highlighted that adopting circular economy (CE) practices could save Pakistan $1.5–2 billion annually by 2030 by reducing material imports and landfill costs, according to the World Bank. Recycling even half of Pakistan’s construction and demolition waste could cut 4–5 million tons of CO₂ emissions per year, helping meet Pakistan’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. A formalized circular construction sector, she added, could generate more than 200,000 jobs, particularly benefiting women and youth.
Despite strong informal reuse networks, Senator Rehman noted that Pakistan’s official recycling rates remain extremely low. “Globally, only 9% of plastic is recycled, while Pakistan recycles just 1%. Nearly 30% of our national waste comes from construction and demolition debris—out of 49.6 million tons produced annually. Much of this waste, which includes recyclable materials like steel, concrete, bricks, glass, and wood, ends up in landfills or open dumps due to lack of regulation and infrastructure.” She also highlighted alarming trends such as the dumping of 9 million gallons of waste into Rawal Dam every day.
Senator Rehman highlighted Pakistan’s significant progress in affordable renewable energy, especially solar power. “Pakistan has risen to the 6th position globally in the solar market from an inconsequential position just three years ago. Our energy supply has exceeded demand — the next step is innovating for sustainable construction.” She stressed that cement and steel sectors, among the world’s most polluting industries, must adopt sustainable materials similar to best practices in the Netherlands, Finland, and Germany, which aim to source 50–100% of construction materials from recycled or regenerative sources by 2050.
Commending the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF), she noted that the initiative is constructing 2.1 million multi-hazard-resistant homes for more than 15 million people—more than the population of 154 countries. The programme’s transparent systems, strong digital architecture, and inclusive public–private partnerships place gender equity at the forefront. So far, 1.5 million bank accounts have been opened for direct transfers, 1.45 million homes are under construction, and 650,000 have been completed, with nearly 800,000 women as direct beneficiaries. In a landmark move, every title deed is issued in a woman’s name.
She also highlighted promising circular projects in Karachi, urging the federation to scale these initiatives nationwide and establish clear, measurable sustainability targets for the construction industry.
Senator Rehman concluded by emphasizing the need for long-term, scalable, and locally relevant solutions for Pakistan’s construction and housing sectors. “We must identify what works best for Pakistan and implement it on a wide and sustainable basis,” she said.