Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called upon the international community to honour its commitment on climate finance, stressing that debt-driven finance cannot address the climate catastrophe confronting vulnerable nations like Pakistan.
Pakistan experienced unprecedented floods and landslides this year amid record monsoon rains, triggered by climate change. The country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reports that since late June, more than 1,000 people have been killed, with nearly 1,100 left injured due to monsoon-related disasters.
Back in 2022, the country faced widespread devastation because of the floods, which killed 1,700 people, wiped off swathes of agricultural land, displaced millions, and incurred losses worth $30 billion, according to governmental estimates. Following the disaster, Pakistan held an international donors’ conference in Geneva, asking the world to help fund its flood recovery.
Earlier this year, the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs was told that out of the $10 billion pledged to Pakistan by various countries, only $500 million came as a grant, with the remainder extended as loans, as reported by Profit.
“Loans over loans, [and] adding to loans is not a solution,” the prime minister said while speaking at the Special Climate Event convened by United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, along with the president of Brazil — the host of COP 30 — for member states to present new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with targets for the year 2035.
PM Shehbaz expressed Pakistan’s commitment to be part of the solution to the climate crisis, hoping that the international community would also honour its commitment for the sake of the country’s future generations.
He reminded delegates that Pakistan was still reeling from the scars of the 2022 floods, which inflicted losses exceeding $30bn and displaced millions.
“This year, intense monsoon rains, cloudbursts, flash floods and devastating urban flooding have impacted more than five million people, destroyed 4,100 villages, and claimed over 1,000 precious lives,” he added.
Highlighting Pakistan’s minimal contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, the prime minister said that despite a negligible contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, “we bear impacts far beyond our share”.
However, he stated that the country’s commitment to delivering on its climate agenda remained steadfast and unwavering.
In 2022, Pakistan was ranked among the most vulnerable countries to climate change.
“In our 2021 Nationally Determined Contribution, Pakistan committed to an unconditional 15 per cent reduction in projected greenhouse gas emissions by 2030,“ he said.
As part of the overall target of cutting emissions by 50pc, he shared that Pakistan had already delivered on its unconditional pledge of a 15pc reduction.
“Renewables are presently providing over 32pc of Pakistan’s power mix. Solar energy has grown sevenfold since 2021,” the prime minister added.
Furthermore, he emphasised that 23,000 hectares of mangrove forests had been restored.
He regretted, however, that the implementation of Pakistan’s national adaptation plan was “hampered, and hampered severely, due to inadequate international climate finance”.
PM Shehbaz announced an increase in the share of renewables and hydropower to 62pc of the country’s energy mix by 2035, expanding nuclear energy capacity by 1,200 megawatts by 2030, shifting 30pc of transport to cleaner mobility by 2030 and establishing 3,000 charging stations nationwide.
He also announced the scaling up of climate-smart agriculture, safeguarding of water security, and advancement of the plantation of 1bn trees.
Earlier, in his remarks, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that it was still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees by century’s end.
He told the gathering that clean energy was powering jobs, growth and sustainable development, besides generating the fastest and cheapest electricity and insulating economies from volatile fossil fuel markets.
“The bottom line: clean is competitive, and climate action is imperative,” he remarked.
He said that the Paris Agreement had made a difference as in the last 10 years, adding, “Now, we need new plans for 2035 that go much further, and much faster.”
The UN chief stressed that “COP30 in Brazil must conclude with a credible global response plan to get us on track and “show a credible path to mobilising the $1.3tr annually in climate finance by 2035, as agreed at COP29 in Baku”, including identifying funding sources, making finance accessible, and ensuring accountability.
He also underlined that “developing countries that did least to cause the crisis are suffering most”, calling for “effective debt relief and scaled-up solutions like debt swaps and disaster pause clauses”.