Green Climate Fund Recharges Pakistan with Coca-Cola Foundation and Partners Investments
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) will invest $66 million in "Recharge Pakistan," a project to improve water systems and green infrastructure to make Pakistan more climate-resilient. This $77.8 million cooperation is Pakistan's largest ecosystem-based climate resilience initiative.
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The Coca-Cola Foundation, USAID, and WWF-Pakistan contributed $12 million and technical assistance to the project. They collaborate to prioritise climate change by growing large-scale green infrastructure, wetlands development, flood-plain management, and local agriculture and forestry companies.
The 7-year project is unique in using nature-based solutions to prepare communities along the Indus Basin for high-risk climate disasters Pakistan is increasingly vulnerable to.
"As we strive to address the far-reaching impacts of climate change in a populous nation like Pakistan, we must rely on collective creativity and a steadfast commitment," said Saadia Madsbjerg, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation. Recognising this is an intergenerational challenge, we must collaborate, spend our resources, and fight diligently to establish lasting solutions.”
“With our funding for Recharge Pakistan, we aim to make a positive difference in over 7 million people and extend support to communities most susceptible to floods,” she said.
Recharge Pakistan is The Coca-Cola Foundation's largest climate resilience and disaster preparedness grant.
Recharge Pakistan is a multi-ministry programme that supports Pakistan's EBA priorities. Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's Minister of Climate Change, stated that Recharge was created through "rigorous design implementation after months of consultation with all the provinces."
Coalition-building initiatives were successful. "The U.S. government considers the Recharge Pakistan Project a game changer for flood mitigation and the creation of economic opportunities in areas faced with recurring water insecurity," stated U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome.
Pakistan can combat climate change by partnering with GCF, the Coca-Cola Foundation, and the World Wildlife Fund.
The implementing partner WWF-Pakistan's Director General, Hammad Naqi Khan, added, “A focus on green infrastructure and ecosystem-based adaptation is crucial, especially for a country like Pakistan, where the impacts of climate change are manifesting with increasing frequency and severity and deepening the economic crisis.”
