At COP31, PM Shehbaz calls for grant-based finance, resilience funding for climate-vulnerable countries

ISLAMABAD BUREAU —Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday called for grant-based finance and improved resilience and adaptation funds for climate-vulnerable countries at COP31, being held in Turkiye’s Antalya. This year’s summit focuses on transitioning toward a low-carbon future. Delegates from nearly 200 countries are meeting in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya as global greenhouse gas emissions show little sign of falling and wars, inflation and other crises compete for political attention.

Addressing the summit, PM Shehbaz highlighted Pakistan’s efforts at promoting clean energy, but warned that “national effort cannot replace a fair and just global response.” “When climate disasters strike, vulnerable countries need timely help and finance that does not deepen their debt,” PM Shehbaz noted, adding that Pakistan called for “grant-based finance, including public-private partnership, alongside significant enhancement of resilience and adaptation funds, which amount to survival funds, especially for struggling economies.” He said that in Pakistan, clean energy sources provided nearly 55pc of energy needs, adding that the country was advancing electric mobility and had set a target to cut projected emissions by about 50pc by 2035.

More to follow.