Climate Change: Pakistan’s eco-friendly roadmap to save future generations: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that the government was working on setting out an eco-friendly roadmap for the country to save its future generations from the negative effects of climate change and global warming.

“We will devise sustainable policies on environmental protection to materialise the vision of a clean and green Pakistan,” the prime minister said in his address at the launch of the first locally-manufactured electric motorbike (e-bike), at the lawns of the Prime Minister House.

The launch of e-bike was part of the government’s five-year Pakistan Electric Vehicles Policy 2020/25 approved last year and envisages targeting a robust electric vehicle market with a 30 per cent and 90 per cent share in the passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks by 2030 and 2040, respectively.

The prime minister said the governments of economically strong countries always worked on long-term policies, rather than those making decisions based on election-to-election strategy to gain votes and promote mafias.

“We have to take action today to resolve the upcoming challenges,” he said, adding that deforestation and pollution were man-made problems that were leading to horrendous effects on human lives.

He recalled that Lahore and Peshawar, once known as the cities of gardens, were witnessing high levels of airborne toxins, which could severely affect the health of a person by reducing his average age by 11 years.

The electric vehicle policy would be export-orientated to encourage economic growth by using local raw material to manufacture indigenous products, he said, adding that besides being helpful in reducing pollution, the electric vehicle sector would open up an entirely new sector in the country and generate employment opportunities.

He lauded Jolta Electric executive director Dr Muhammad Amjad and the government’s team to promote eco-friendly policies in the country.

The salient features of the policy include a phased transition of the automobile industry, as it will be covering two and three wheelers and heavy commercial vehicles providing incentives to the manufacturers.

Manufactured by a Pakistani company Jolta Electric, the e-bike is a major step towards electrifying the country’s automobile industry.

The e-bike, to be available in various models, including JE-70, JE-70 L, JE-70 D, JE-100 L, JE-125 L, JE-Scooty, JE-Sports bike, is energy-efficient and can be charged overnight with other features such as no clutch and gear and low maintenance.

Various models of Jolta e-bikes have different speed specifications from 10km to 60km/ hour and can cover a distance after full charge from 60km to 100km.

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