The financial commitments made at the last two United Nations annual climate summits, COP27 and COP28, have not yet been fulfilled, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized on Wednesday.
He said this during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP29, which is taking place in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
On the second and last day of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit, the premier made Pakistan’s case today.
The Global Climate Risk Index places Pakistan among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable nations. Unprecedented floods, heavy monsoon rains, scorching heat waves, fast glacial melting, and glacial lake outburst floods are just a few of the extreme weather occurrences that have become more regular and severe.
COP29 should “make this understanding loud and clear that we will have to fulfil those financial pledges” made at COP27 and COP28, PM Shehbaz said in his speech to the summit.
“However, I believe that those enormous financial obligations must be fulfilled.”
Understanding the “calamities which, unfortunately, some of the countries have already faced and some will if we do not act” was the stated goal of the gathering, according to the prime minister.
“We had failed to stop the rise in emissions and catastrophic global warming ten years ago in Paris, and those pledges in Paris ten years ago that were made have yet to see the light of day,” PM Shehbaz remarked, referring to the 2015 Paris Agreement.
“We should not bear the consequences of emissions realized by others without even the means to finance resilience, as we are the minus-one emitters,” he emphasized.
“Real resilience is impossible without climate justice,” the prime minister declared.
Pakistan will “go through a renewable energy revolution,” PM Shehbaz added, pointing out that the nation unveiled a “comprehensive National Adaptation Plan” last year.
“We have created our National Carbon Market Framework this year,” he added. However, we can’t accomplish it by ourselves. For Pakistan to achieve its climate goals, foreign assistance is required.
The prime minister also discussed the terrible 2022 monsoon floods, emphasizing that they caused $30 million in economic losses for the nation, 1,700 fatalities, widespread displacement, and the destruction of homes and crops.
“To take measures which are so important at this point in time to have a conducive environment,” he urged the international community.
Despite being one of the nations that “hardly contribute” to global emissions, PM Shehbaz emphasized that Pakistan was at risk from climate change and was included in the list of “10 countries which can, God forbid, face this kind of devastation again.”
He recalled seeing flood victims in Balochistan, including a youngster named Ikramullah who had “lost everything,” and remarked, “My memories are still fresh.”
“His home was totally destroyed, his school was submerged, and his entire village was wiped off the face of the planet.” And we had arranged for him to receive his education in a different region of Pakistan,” he added.
“I would not want other countries to face the plight Pakistan faced back in 2022,” said Prime Minister Shehbaz.
The PM declared that Pakistan was “fully committed to being part of the global climate solutions” and described his country as a “resilient, hard-working, and responsible nation.”
He addressed the summit, “My government has taken concrete actions to deliver on its commitment to shift 30 percent of our vehicles to EVs (electric vehicles) by the end of this decade and to produce 60 percent of all energy from green sources.”
Devastating floods brought on by climate change struck Pakistan during the 2022 monsoon season, killing at least 1,700 people.
The government estimates the destruction caused losses of $30 billion, with 33 million people impacted and large areas of agricultural land washed away.
Record-breaking temperatures brought on by a heat wave in June 2024 had a negative effect on agriculture and public health.
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