By Moaaz Manzoor

The federal government has increased the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination's development budget by 8.4% for FY2026-27 after reducing it during the previous fiscal year, with nearly the entire allocation earmarked for the Green Pakistan Programme.

According to documents available with Wealth Pakistan, the ministry's Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) documents show that the FY2026-27 allocation has been set at Rs2.478 billion, up from the revised FY2025-26 allocation of Rs2.286 billion. The previous year's development budget had been revised downward from an original allocation of Rs2.784 billion following cumulative surrenders of Rs498.1 million directed by the Prime Minister's Office.

According to the documents, the ministry is implementing four ongoing development projects in FY2026-27, while two projects were completed on June 30, 2026.

The Green Pakistan Programme remains the government's dominant climate investment, receiving an allocation of Rs2.325 billion for FY2026-27. The project focuses on afforestation and ecological restoration and accounts for the overwhelming share of the ministry's total development budget for the year.

Besides the Green Pakistan Programme, the PSDP portfolio includes Rs40.7 million for strengthening the technical capacity of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Rs51.6 million for the Green Skills for Sustainable Development, Green Entrepreneurship and Innovation project, and Rs50 million for the formulation of the National Urban Strategy and climate-resilient spatial planning guidelines.

The ministry's documents describe the FY2026-27 portfolio as focusing on afforestation and ecological restoration, green growth, skills and entrepreneurship, urban climate resilience and spatial planning, institutional strengthening, and climate finance and measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems.

Financial data for FY2025-26 show that the ministry received Rs2.783 billion against the revised allocation of Rs2.286 billion. The documents show cumulative surrenders of Rs498.1 million, reducing the ministry's development envelope from the original allocation.

Among the projects completed during FY2025-26 were the Capacity Building for Water Quality Monitoring and SDG 6 (6.1) Reporting initiative and the Pakistan Biosafety Clearing House for GMOs Regulation project, both of which closed on June 30, 2026.

The ministry's planning documents indicate that the higher FY2026-27 allocation is intended to restore part of the development envelope following the previous year's downward revision while maintaining investment in afforestation, institutional capacity, green skills and urban climate planning.

Credit: INP-WealthPk