Climate justice for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD BUREAU —COP31 has opened in Antalya with the same familiar and dispiriting contest over money. The UN Secretary-General has urged leaders to "get serious" about a crisis that is no longer a forecast but a daily emergency. Yet, developing nations have had to fight just to put climate finance on the official agenda.

For countries like Pakistan, this is not just a diplomatic spectacle. It is a matter of survival. Pakistan has a negligible carbon footprint - it contributes less than 1% of global emissions - but ranks among the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries, exposed to heatwaves, extreme monsoons and accelerating glacial melt.

The 2022 super-floods submerged a third of the country, affected 33 million people and caused over $30 billion in damage. Islamabad now estimates that meeting its climate commitments will require $565 billion by 2035. Where that money will come from is anyone's guess, though self-financing is not a real option - more than 60% of revenues are currently consumed by debt servicing alone.

Pakistan's negotiating priorities are clear - accessible adaptation finance, predictable grant-based loss-and-damage support, and international recognition of threats, including mountain climate risks. As things stand, the Loss and Damage Fund is still embarrassingly small - $342 million available against $2.8 billion in requests, with Pakistan's own $58 million in proposals receiving no allocation.

Experts have suggested that Pakistan build a 'mountain coalition' with countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to demand glacier monitoring, early-warning systems and resilient infrastructure. Islamabad should also use ties with China and G77 countries to lobby for more grant-based finance options that will not push affected countries further into debt.

And though we can't give much in return, we can at least offer to try improving domestic transparency for donors' funds - though that may be an even more difficult task.