Pakistan Backs Global Green Freight Corridors
Pakistan has backed the Global Green Freight Corridors Initiative and pledged support for pilot green corridors, at a high-level ministerial roundtable during COP31 in Antalya, Turkiye. Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan gave the endorsement on Tuesday and said Pakistan was ready to work with international partners to turn shared climate goals into real cross-border projects.
The roundtable was co-hosted by Turkish Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. It brought together ministers and officials to discuss cleaner ways to move goods across borders.
Green freight: Pakistan backs pilot corridors
Khan formally endorsed the initiative across its four pillars: clean technology, digital connectivity, smart route planning and climate finance. He said Pakistan would support pilot green corridors and work with partners to turn a shared climate vision into lasting reality, according to an official statement. ARY News confirmed the endorsement and the four pillars.
He described international freight transport as the lifeblood of global commerce, but also one of the fastest-growing sources of transport-related greenhouse gas emissions. Economic growth and care for the environment were mutually reinforcing goals, he said, and the launch of the initiative showed that sustainable logistics was the only viable path forward.
Khan added that COP31 must shift its focus from climate pledges to tangible cross-border outcomes. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to cutting emissions from global supply chains and building logistics infrastructure that can withstand climate shocks.
Road carries 96% of freight today
Pakistan’s case for change starts with its own freight map. The country sits as a regional trade bridge linking China, Central Asia and the Middle East, with more than 500,000 kilometres of roads, a 7,800-kilometre railway, major deep-sea ports and developing trade arteries under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Yet road transport carries 96 per cent of domestic freight. That strains national resources, clogs highways and worsens urban air quality. Khan said Pakistan was pursuing a multi-pillar transition to fix that imbalance.
The Railway Plan 2026 aims to lift rail’s share of freight to 20 per cent through the modernised Main Line-1 project. The National Electric Vehicle Policy 2025-30 provides for 3,000 charging stations along major corridors, alongside maritime reforms across national seaports. Pakistan Railways is also bringing 36 locomotives back into service by June 2027, which will add capacity for the shift from road to rail.
Digital transit is moving too. Khan said transit volumes under the UN TIR Convention had risen 200 per cent, with digital pre-shipment notices built into the Pakistan Single Window and an eTIR project under way with the UN Economic Commission for Europe. That places Pakistan among the fastest-rising countries in regional trade facilitation.
How Pakistan plans to pay for the shift
Financing will combine Public Sector Development Programme allocations, multilateral support from the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and private investment under the Public-Private Partnership Authority Act. Projects in line include the M-6 Motorway and ML-1 upgrades.
The green freight push fits a wider pattern of cleaner trade routes. Pakistan and China opened a green channel at Sost-Khunjerab in October, and a new expressway from Karachi port to Qayyumabad was approved to ease congestion at the country’s busiest gateway. Direct shipping between Karachi and Europe has also resumed, which gives exporters a shorter sea route.
The endorsement comes as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attends the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, where he is due to address world leaders on November 11. COP31 opened in Antalya with finance for developing countries at the centre of the talks, and Pakistan is pressing for predictable funding that lets countries like it build resilience while cutting emissions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Global Green Freight Corridors Initiative?
It is an international initiative to cut emissions from freight transport through clean technology, digital connectivity, smart route planning and climate finance. Pakistan endorsed it at a ministerial roundtable during COP31 in Antalya.
Who represented Pakistan at the roundtable?
Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan represented Pakistan. The roundtable was co-hosted by Turkiye’s transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
How much of Pakistan’s freight moves by road?
Road carries 96 per cent of domestic freight. The Railway Plan 2026 aims to lift rail’s share to 20 per cent through the modernised Main Line-1 project.
What is Pakistan doing to cut freight emissions?
Pakistan is shifting freight from road to rail, building 3,000 electric vehicle charging stations along major corridors, reforming its seaports and expanding digital transit under the UN TIR Convention, where volumes have risen 200 per cent.
How will the green freight projects be financed?
Financing combines Public Sector Development Programme funds, support from the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and private investment under the Public-Private Partnership Authority Act.
