Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told a clean-energy dialogue at the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Turkiye, on Wednesday, November 11, that his country will need about $188 billion by 2035 to complete its clean-energy transition — and that the money will have to come largely as concessional finance and affordable technology from international partners, according to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) reported by Pakistan TV.
Source: Pakistan TV / PMO statement, Nov 11, 2026
The figure breaks down into about $138 billion by 2035 for low-carbon electricity generation and a further $50 billion to replace coal-based power generation with solar energy, the prime minister said at the high-level session titled "Clean Energy Transition by 2035: Powering the Future", held on the sidelines of the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31). The Express Tribune, quoting the PMO statement, reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted the session.
Source: Skardu Times (Express Tribune / APP), Nov 11, 2026
"35 by 35 will be achieved only if finance flows at the speed of ambition through concessional capital and the transfer of affordable technology," Sharif said, referring to the 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge, under which participating countries aim to raise electricity's share of total final energy consumption to about 35 per cent by 2035. Pakistan has backed the pledge, the PMO said.
Source: Pakistan TV / PMO statement, Nov 11, 2026
A rooftop solar boom, by the prime minister's account
Sharif described Pakistan's shift to solar as a grassroots revolution driven by ordinary people seeking affordable and reliable electricity through years of high grid prices. "In my country, an extraordinary transition has already taken place," he said, adding that Pakistan had installed nearly 22 gigawatts of rooftop solar capacity in just two years. That 22-gigawatt figure is the prime minister's own: reports of the speech note that estimates of installed rooftop capacity vary and the figure has not been independently verified.
Source: Zark News, Nov 11, 2026
Clean energy sources now account for nearly 55 per cent of Pakistan's energy mix, the prime minister told the gathering. He also pointed to the recent dome placement at Chashma-5, Pakistan's seventh nuclear power plant, which he said will contribute 1,200 megawatts of clean electricity to the national grid.
Source: Pakistan TV / PMO statement, Nov 11, 2026
Electric vehicles and what happens next
On transport, Sharif said Pakistan's recently drafted automobile policy supports a target of making 30 per cent of newly sold vehicles electric by 2030, backed by incentives including lower tariffs. All future government buses and motorcycles bought will be electric, he said, and this year, for the first time, more than one in every ten motorcycles sold in Pakistan was electric.
Source: Skardu Times (Express Tribune / APP), Nov 11, 2026
The prime minister cautioned that expanding grids, building reliable storage and making new technology affordable all demand heavy investment that indebted developing economies cannot carry alone. "Let us resolve to power our economies without impoverishing our people and light up our homes without darkening our planet," he said.
Source: Pakistan TV / PMO statement, Nov 11, 2026
Sharif arrived in Antalya on Tuesday for the COP31 World Leaders' Summit and was welcomed at the venue by President Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the PMO said. He is also due to deliver Pakistan's national statement at COP31, making the case for climate justice for countries exposed to a changing climate, and to meet several world leaders; a dedicated Pakistan Pavilion at the venue will host 54 themed events, according to the PMO. The financing he appealed for has not been committed — his call was for concessional capital, meaning low-cost loans and grants, rather than commercial borrowing.
Source: Skardu Times (Express Tribune / APP), Nov 11, 2026
Climate finance for developing countries is a central theme of COP31, which runs in Antalya from November 9 to 20. Pakistan, one of the countries most exposed to flooding and extreme heat, has pressed at successive climate summits for funding that matches the scale of the transition it is asking its citizens to make; its earlier climate diplomacy helped establish the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27, the PMO noted.
Source: Zark News, Nov 11, 2026