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Textile Sector: Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization (EE&D) Opportunities

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2025-08-06
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2025-08-06
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Textiles are Pakistan’s most critical manufacturing sector, contributing nearly one‑fourth of the industrial value added and employing about 40 percent of the industrial labor force. It has the longest production chain and inherent potential for value addition at each processing stage, from cotton to ginning, spinning, fabric, dyeing and finishing, made‑ups, and garments. Excluding seasonal and cyclical fluctuations, textile products have maintained an average share of about 54.5 percent in national exports and contribute to 8–9 percent of GDP. Concentrated mostly in the Punjab and Sindh, companies within the sector are associated with various value‑chain activities, manufacturing products such as linen and finished garments. Primary energy sources for the textile industry make up 17 percent of overall primary industrial energy consumption in Pakistan, comprising 28 percent of industrial electricity use, 5.1 percent of industrial fuel oil use, and 28.6 percent of industrial natural gas use. Due to unreliable grid supplied electricity, a considerable share of the electricity demand for textile manufacturing is met through captive generation in large textile mills. The textile sector is responsible for nearly 5 percent of the country’s overall industrial emissions onsite fuel consumption and energy sourced from the gas and electricity networks are key sources of these GHG emissions. This note describes decarbonization interventions to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions in the textile sector while increasing industrial competitiveness and providing wider economic and environmental benefits.
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World Bank. 2025. Textile Sector: Energy Efficiency and Decarbonization (EE&D) Opportunities. Pakistan Sustainable Energy Series. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43552 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.
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