Pakistan’s climate challenge is huge. Despite contributing less than 1 percent to GHG emissions, the country is among the nations most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. In fact, the global climate risk index lists Pakistan as the fifth country most vulnerable to the climate in the world. The massive floods of 2022 who killed hundreds, displaced millions and inflicted economic losses in tens of billions of dollars, in addition to increasing food insecurity, highlighted the type of existential threat that the Pakistani economy hungry cash must fight to survive. As if periodic extreme climatic events, ranging from heat waves to abnormal rains, destructive floods, did not represent a sufficient challenge, reduced glaciers in the north means that the country would have much less water for its agriculture in the not too distant future. Unfortunately, the fact that policy formulators understand the implications of climate change for people and the economy does not mean that their concern will automatically translate into concrete political actions in the short term.
The world is too busy with its own problems to focus and finance our climate challenge. So far only a few hundred dollars have been received of more than $ 10 billion promised by several global nations and agencies to help Islamabad rebuild the infrastructure destroyed in 2022 and rehabilitate those displaced by the flood. A large number of affected people remain displaced almost three years after floods. Although the World Bank has pledged to finance some climate resistant infrastructure projects under its 10 -year country association framework initiative, promised funds are too scarce to have a significant impact. Now the government is looking for the IMF to provide $ 1 billion in climatic funds and has launched the green action bonds to finance sustainable green projects for greater adaptation and mitigation of climate change. However, there is little evidence to support your claims that you are integrating climate resistant policies in the sectors.
On Friday, the Minister of Finance, Mohammed Aurengzeb, rightly said a great financial gap and the lack of technical capacity in our fight against climate change. However, there are political actions that simply need political will and commitment and not money to address the challenges of climate change. With slow international climate financing to come, it is found in our policy formulators to use any money we have in such a way that it helps create climate resistant infrastructure and climate adaptation measures. Waiting for external help to arrive will only aggravate our climatic challenges and not mitigate them. As the Minister of Finance has emphasized, sustainable economic and environmental growth goes hand in hand. It is time for the government to translate its verbal commitments in concrete actions that promote environmentally stable growth.
Posted in Dawn, March 24, 2025
