Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Clean Air Project

pipeline

Prospective

The Project is aligned with World Bank Group corporate and regional priorities. The Pakistan Country Partnership Framework (CPF) 2026–35 includes an Outcome Area “Cleaner energy and better air quality” with a target of “35% reduction of the population-weighted PM2.5 average annual exposure from 55 to 35μg/m3”, consistent with goals set out in Pakistan’s National Clean Air Policy and the World Health Organization’s first interim target. A “35 by 35” goal to achieve 35ug/m3 by 2035 was also adopted collectively among the Indo-Gangetic Plain and Himalayan Foothills Region countries in 2024. The project will additionally contribute to CPF Outcome Areas on “Reduced child stunting”, and “Increased resilience to climate change”. The project activities focus on strengthening Provincial AQM systems through a convergence of work across government departments led by the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary Offices, the KP Climate Change, Forestry, Environment and Wildlife Department, and the Planning and Development Department in cooperation with other sector departments. The project will enhance air quality monitoring, governance, and enforcement, and implement selected cost-effective emission reduction measures from major contributing sectors. Investments in transport, household cooking, and waste will focus on Peshawar and surrounding districts to demonstrate good practice models for future scale-up; while industry investments involving policy reforms and regulatory practices will be implemented Province-wide. The following project components are proposed:Component 1: Air Quality Management and Governance. This component will help build KP Province’s capacity for convergence of inter-departmental action and evidence-based decision making to improve air quality in line with the KP Smog Action Plan while strengthening regulatory, institutional, and technical capabilities. Project-funded activities will improve air quality and climate change data collection to support assessment and monitoring by establishing a network of regulatory-grade monitoring stations, creating a central decision support system, and developing an integrated pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions inventory. It also includes a comprehensive source apportionment study, a multi-year public awareness campaign focused on air pollution and its health impacts, and the introduction of an interdepartmental coordination and monitoring systems for air quality and climate change activities and results. Component 2: Sector Transition Programs. This component will support implementation of first stage clean air measures for emission reductions in sectors selected from - transport, household energy, industry, and solid waste management as the largest contributors to PM₂.₅ exposure in the Peshawar Valley. The KP Smog Action Plan, World Bank analytics, and stakeholder discussions identified priority near-term high-impact, cost-effective measures that are most critical to reduce exposure within Peshawar District taking into consideration broader airshed dynamics. Activities under this component will combine policy reforms and institutional strengthening with physical investments to demonstrate scalable models for province-wide adoption. Work on component 1 will be carried out alongside efforts to implement the Sector-based Clean Air Transition programs, helping to develop and revise plans for new measures in later phases.Component 3: Contingent Emergency Response. This component will provide immediate response to an Eligible Crisis or Emergency, as needed. Following an adverse extreme natural event that causes a major disaster or emergency, the government may request the Bank to re-allocate project funds to support response and reconstruction. Resources will be allocated to this component as needed during implementation.

World Bank Group

Project

Waste Processing and Treatment, Biomass, Government