Pakistan Solar Power Shines at COP31 Summit
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told world leaders at the COP31 summit in Antalya on Wednesday that Pakistan solar power is now one of the fastest-growing energy stories in the world, with nearly 22 gigawatts of rooftop capacity added in just two years.
“In just two years, Pakistan has added nearly 22 gigawatts of rooftop solar capacity, a quiet revolution by ordinary citizens seeking affordable power and a cleaner, more predictable future,” the prime minister said at a high-level dialogue on clean energy transition titled “35 by 35: Powering the Future”.
He said Pakistan fully supports the 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge, under which countries aim to raise electricity to around 35 per cent of total final energy use by 2035.
How Pakistan solar power grew so fast
The 22 gigawatt figure is striking because it came from rooftops, not from large power plants built by the state. Households and businesses across Pakistan put up panels to cut their bills and escape unreliable supply, and the total now stands at more than 18 times the 1,200 megawatts that Chashma-5 will add when it is complete.
The prime minister recalled the recent inauguration of a key section of Chashma-5, Pakistan’s seventh nuclear power plant, and said the project will add 1,200 megawatts of clean energy to the national mix. He added that clean sources now provide nearly 55 per cent of Pakistan’s energy mix.
Electric vehicles join the shift
“A second transformation is now underway on our roads and highways,” the prime minister said, pointing to the new auto policy, which aims for 30 per cent of new vehicles to be electric by 2030. The policy offers incentives through lower tariffs, and all future government buses and motorcycles will be electric.
This year, for the first time, more than one in every 10 motorcycles sold in Pakistan was electric, as commuters hit by fuel prices turn to cheaper rides.
“The momentum is real and it is accelerating,” the prime minister said. He then warned that “momentum without finance cannot be sustained”, and said grids must expand quickly, storage must keep supply steady, and new technology must stay affordable for all.
The finance ask
Pakistan alone needs around $138 billion by 2035 for low-carbon power, the prime minister said, and $50 billion more to replace coal with solar. He said the 35-by-35 goal could only be reached “if finance flows at the speed of ambition through concessional capital and the transfer of affordable technology”.
“Let us resolve to power our economies without impoverishing our people and light up our homes without darkening our planet,” he said. “That is the promise of 35 by 35, and it is a promise we must deliver together and under all circumstances.”
Feature Pakistan reported before the summit that Pakistan contributes less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions yet ranks among the countries hit hardest by climate change. Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik told the summit that more than 13,500 glaciers have been identified in Pakistan, and the risk of glacial lake outburst floods demands joint research.
Meetings on the sidelines
The Prime Minister’s Office said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres received the prime minister on his arrival at the venue.
On the sidelines, Shehbaz Sharif met Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian to discuss bilateral relations and regional peace. He said he had conveyed Pakistan’s deep concern over the prolonged conflict in the region, and that dialogue, restraint and de-escalation were the only path to lasting peace.
Erdogan said: “What has taken place in Gaza is not only a genocide, but it is also an ecocide.”
Guterres said the climate crisis was outrunning the world. “The brutal truth is that the climate crisis is outrunning us. This is the path to mutually assured destruction,” he said.
Why the summit matters
The COP31 talks opened in Antalya on November 9 and run until November 20. A UN report last month found the world on course to break through the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit set under the Paris Agreement.
The year 2026 has brought extreme heatwaves across Western Europe and a glacier collapse in Nepal that set off a flood killing more than 1,450 people. For Pakistan, the same risks are close to home, with melting glaciers and floods threatening families in Gilgit-Baltistan and across the north.
The United States has skipped the talks for a second year after President Donald Trump withdrew the country from climate cooperation, and several large economies, including France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada, did not send their top leaders.
Frequently asked questions
How much rooftop solar has Pakistan added?
Nearly 22 gigawatts in two years, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told COP31, calling it a quiet revolution by ordinary citizens seeking affordable power.
What is the 35-by-35 pledge?
A global electrification pledge aiming to raise electricity to around 35 per cent of total final energy use by 2035. Pakistan fully supports it.
How much climate finance does Pakistan need?
Around $138 billion by 2035 for low-carbon power, plus $50 billion more to replace coal with solar.
What share of Pakistan’s energy mix is clean?
Nearly 55 per cent, the prime minister said. Chashma-5 will add 1,200 megawatts of clean energy when complete.
What is Pakistan’s electric vehicle target?
30 per cent of new vehicles by 2030. This year, more than one in every 10 motorcycles sold in Pakistan was electric.
