ANTALYA, Türkiye: Pakistan’s Minister of State for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal, joined senior executives from Beko and Dawlance at COP31 to discuss how inclusive and affordable technologies can support the energy transition in emerging markets.
The discussion was held as part of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), which is continuing in Antalya, Türkiye. Koç Holding, Türkiye’s leading investment holding company, is serving as a Global Business Partner at the conference.
Beko, the flagship consumer durables company of Koç Group and the parent company of Dawlance, hosted the panel titled “Cooling a Warming World: Energy Access and Climate Change in Emerging Markets” at the Türkiye Pavilion in the Blue Zone.
The session brought together Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal, Beko CEO Can Dinçer and Dawlance CEO Umar Ahsan Khan. The discussion was moderated by Michel Frédeau, Senior Advisor and Global Leader of BCG’s Climate and Environment Impact Area.
Speaking from Beko’s experience with Dawlance in Pakistan and Defy in South Africa, Can Dinçer said the markets where demand for cooling is rising most rapidly are often those where efficiency standards are still evolving. He noted that high-efficiency products should reach such markets before regulation makes them mandatory.
Dawlance said it aims to enable more Pakistani families to access appliances that are less costly to operate. The company combines local research and development and manufacturing with technology transfer from Arçelik to develop and test energy-efficient appliances suited to local conditions.
These include inverter refrigerators and air conditioners designed to operate on low voltage, as well as on solar, UPS and generator power.
“Pakistan’s fan replacement programme lets eligible households pay for efficient fans in instalments through their electricity bills. A similar approach could help families replace older refrigerators and air conditioners and start using less electricity while they pay for the upgrade,” said Umar Ahsan Khan, CEO of Dawlance.
Dawlance is also working with NEECA, PSQCA, UNIDO and Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination to improve appliance affordability, strengthen energy efficiency standards and help consumers understand how much electricity they can save.
The company said lowering electricity consumption over the lifetime of its appliances also helps reduce Dawlance’s Scope 3 emissions. With support from UNIDO and the Ministry’s National Ozone Unit, Dawlance has converted the insulation foam in its refrigerators and freezers to cyclopentane, which has zero ozone-depleting potential.
In September, Federal Secretary of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Awais Manzur Sumra, visited Dawlance’s Karachi plant to review the transition.
Beko’s COP31 programme will continue in the coming days as part of Koç Holding’s “From Commitments to Action” programme at the Koç Holding Pavilion in the Green Zone. Beko executives are scheduled to join international stakeholders for discussions on how the green transition is shaping industrial competitiveness, integrated value chains between Türkiye and Europe, the alignment of climate and trade policies, and financing for low-carbon investment.
Koç Holding and Beko said they remain committed to supporting Pakistan’s economic and industrial progress through innovation, stronger local manufacturing and reliable technologies aimed at improving everyday life for Pakistani households.
Koç Group’s operations play an important role in strengthening economic relations between Türkiye and Pakistan, two countries linked by shared values and strategic partnership. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached approximately $1.2 billion in 2025, while both sides remain committed to expanding cooperation with the goal of increasing bilateral trade to $5 billion.
