Driving the transition to cleaner and more inclusive transport
Pakistan is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, with a rapidly growing population and increasing pressure on its energy and transport systems. Heavy reliance on imported fossil fuels, combined with rising urbanisation and vehicle ownership, contributes to air pollution, energy insecurity, and greenhouse gas emissions.
At the same time, access to mobility and energy is deeply shaped by social inequalities. Women, in particular, face significant barriers to safe and affordable transport, as well as limited participation in the energy and mobility sectors.
Against this backdrop, the Battery Swapping Network – Pakistan project, supported by the Mitigation Action Facility, aims to accelerate the transition to electric mobility while ensuring that solutions are inclusive, scalable, and responsive to local needs.
A new approach to electric mobility
The project, led by the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Energy Institute in collaboration with national partners, focuses on establishing a network of battery swapping stations for electric three-wheelers (E3Ws). These vehicles play a key role in Pakistan’s urban and peri-urban transport systems.
By introducing battery swapping, the project addresses critical barriers to electric vehicle adoption, including high upfront costs, range anxiety, limited residential charging options, and frequent power outages. The model integrates solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to reduce charging costs, lower emissions, and enhance energy resilience.
Currently in its Detailed Project Preparation (DPP) phase, the initiative is also working to strengthen the commercial viability of the battery swapping value chain. Partnerships with financial institutions, including a Memorandum of Understanding with Habib Bank Limited (HBL), aim to expand access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and e-mobility service providers.
A key strength of the project lies in its early and systematic integration of Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) considerations into the design phase.
Rather than treating inclusion as an add-on, the project adopts a “whole-of-ecosystem” approach, embedding social considerations directly into technical, financial, and operational components. This includes integrating accessibility features into vehicle design and ensuring that infrastructure planning reflects the needs of diverse user groups.
This early integration enables cost-effective design solutions that would be significantly more difficult to implement at later stages.
To better understand the barriers faced by different groups, the project applied a mixed-methods approach, combining interviews, observations, and targeted research.
In a particularly innovative step, the project team engaged with district courts and legal aid offices to gain insights into harassment and safety concerns in the transport sector. This revealed that mobility is closely linked to issues of personal security and access to justice—factors that are often overlooked in technical project design.
These findings informed the integration of safety considerations into infrastructure planning, such as improved lighting and design features that enhance user security.
In Pakistan’s male-dominated transport sector, cultural and social norms can limit women’s participation. The project addresses these challenges through a pragmatic and context-sensitive approach.
Instead of focusing solely on high-visibility roles such as vehicle operation, the project promotes opportunities in areas such as management, data analysis, and service provision. It also identifies culturally acceptable niches, such as transport services for schools or family-operated shared mobility solutions.
This strategy allows the project to expand opportunities for women while working within existing social dynamics, supporting more sustainable and locally accepted pathways to inclusion.
Access to finance remains a major challenge for scaling electric mobility, particularly for women and small businesses. Financial institutions often perceive women-focused products as higher risk, limiting their willingness to engage.
The project responds by working with financial partners to co-develop financing mechanisms that position inclusion as a business opportunity rather than a constraint. At the same time, broader market challenges persist, including high technology costs and global supply chain dependencies, which continue to affect affordability.
Lessons for inclusive climate action
Although still in the preparation phase, the project already offers important lessons for designing inclusive climate mitigation initiatives:
- Integrating GESI early enables more effective and cost-efficient solutions
- Intersectional analysis provides deeper insights into real-world barriers
- Safety and access to justice are critical components of mobility
- Context-sensitive approaches are essential to ensure social acceptance
- Collaboration with financial institutions is key to expanding inclusive access to finance
The experience also highlights the importance of strong internal ownership of GESI principles, as well as flexible technical support that allows projects to explore complex social dynamics in depth.
Looking ahead
By combining technical innovation with a strong focus on inclusion, the project demonstrates how electric mobility solutions can contribute not only to emissions reduction, but also to more equitable and resilient urban systems.
As the project moves forward, it will continue to generate insights that can inform policy, financing, and implementation approaches for inclusive e-mobility in Pakistan and beyond.