NAVIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF PAKISTAN-CHINA COOPERATION AND SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES

Abstract

The China-Pakistan Transportation Corridor (CPTC) has several difficulties to hit on sustainable development accompanied by natural disasters. For the evaluation of the institution’s sustainability, this study proposes a localized indicator evaluation system with 27 Tier I and 8 Tier II indicators identified for 11 of the SDGs. The findings of the years 2015, 2017, and 2020 reveal that amongst the provinces, Xinjiang ranks higher in terms of SD while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is lowest, particularly in social and environmental matrices. The findings of this study show that among all the provinces, Islamabad Capital Territory has the better performance in SDG5, SDG8, and SDG9 whereas Punjab has a better position in SDG6 and SDG11. According to the findings, it is evident that the overall levels of sustainable development have risen; however, dimensions of Social and Environmental Development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have deteriorated. This study highlights the necessity of increasing cooperation between China and Pakistan regarding sustainability translation under the framework of the CPEC initiative. Climate change cannot be wished away and therefore calls for structural solutions; transition to low-carbon, climate-resililient development, and policy coherence.