CLIMATE change has emerged as one of the gravest threats to Pakistan’s economic survival, environmental security and human development. Yet, years after the devastating floods of 2022, international promises of financial assistance for Pakistan’s recovery and climate resilience remain inadequately fulfilled. The widening gap between commitments and actual delivery raises serious questions about global climate diplomacy and climate justice. Climate change refers to long-term changes in temperatures, rainfall patterns and weather systems, accelerated largely by human activities, particularly fossil-fuel consumption, deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Its consequences include rising temperatures, heatwaves, unpredictable monsoons, floods, droughts, melting glaciers and water insecurity.
Pakistan is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, despite contributing less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The catastrophic floods of 2022 affected approximately 33 million people, destroying homes, crops and infrastructure and causing billions of dollars in economic losses. Agriculture, food security, public health and livelihoods continue to face mounting risks. At the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan, held in Geneva on January 9, 2023, international development partners and financial institutions pledged approximately $10.98 billion for Pakistan’s Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework (4RF).
The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Union and several bilateral partners were among the contributors. However, the crucial question remains: how much of this assistance has actually reached Pakistan? Figures reported in August 2025 indicated that approximately $4.69 billion had been secured against the total pledges. Of this, around $2.75 billion was allocated to project financing and $1.93 billion to commodity financing. More concerning was the grant component: against approximately $540 million pledged in grants, only $21 million had reportedly been received.
Much of the assistance was structured as loans rather than grants. This distinction matters enormously. A country already struggling with external debt, fiscal deficits and balance-of-payments pressures cannot finance climate recovery predominantly through additional borrowing. Climate assistance should not become another source of debt accumulation. Pakistan also played an important role in international negotiations leading to the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27 in Egypt in November 2022. Designed to support vulnerable developing countries facing irreversible losses from climate change, the fund was subsequently operationalised as the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD).
However, translating commitments into actual assistance has proved painfully slow. In November 2025, Pakistan’s climate minister confirmed that the country had not received a single dollar from the fund. Pakistan subsequently submitted three proposals covering agriculture, health and flash-flood losses. In July 2026, the fund’s board deferred initial funding decisions until December after receiving 176 proposals from 119 developing countries seeking approximately $2.8 billion. Such delays expose the gap between international declarations and the urgent needs of vulnerable populations.
The devastation in neighbouring Nepal offers another reminder of South Asia’s growing climate vulnerability. In September 2024, exceptionally heavy rainfall triggered catastrophic floods and landslides across 21 districts. According to United Nations figures, 246 people lost their lives, approximately 2.9 million were affected and estimated damage reached $345 million. These disasters demonstrate that climate change is an immediate humanitarian and economic emergency for the entire region. Pakistan must modernize its warning and rescue systems: While demanding climate justice internationally, Pakistan must strengthen its domestic capacity to anticipate and manage disasters. Financial assistance alone cannot protect lives unless it is translated into modern infrastructure, technology and effective emergency response.
Pakistan needs a comprehensive, technology-driven flood and storm warning system. The Pakistan Meteorological Department and National Disaster Management Authority should be equipped with advanced Doppler radars, automatic weather stations, satellite-based rainfall monitoring, river-level sensors and artificial intelligence-supported forecasting. These technologies can improve predictions of flash floods, cloudbursts, urban flooding and extreme rainfall. Forecasting capabilities must be integrated into a national warning network. Alerts should reach vulnerable communities through mobile phone broadcasts, SMS, television, radio and community sirens. Warnings must be issued in Urdu and regional languages, identifying threatened villages, evacuation routes and safe shelters rather than merely announcing expected rainfall.
Equally important is practical rescue capacity. Pakistan must maintain adequate fleets of motorized and inflatable boats in flood-prone districts of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. These should carry life jackets, communication devices, emergency lighting and medical supplies. Trained rescue teams, fuel reserves and equipment must be positioned before the monsoon season. District Administrations should maintain maps of vulnerable settlements, schools, hospitals and evacuation points. Regular community drills, elevated shelters and coordination among Rescue 1122, NDMA, provincial authorities and local governments can significantly reduce casualties.
Climate finance is not charity; it is an essential component of climate justice and international responsibility. Wealthier countries, whose historical emissions have contributed disproportionately to global warming, must honour their commitments through predictable, accessible and timely financial assistance. At the same time, Pakistan must ensure transparency, effective project preparation and coordination between federal and provincial governments. A public monitoring mechanism should disclose donor-wise commitments, agreements signed, actual disbursements and project-level expenditure.
Pakistan cannot afford to wait indefinitely for international conferences to produce another set of declarations. Every delayed dollar means another family waiting for rehabilitation, another damaged school unrepaired, another farmer struggling to recover and another community exposed to future disasters. The credibility of global climate diplomacy will ultimately be judged not by billions announced at conferences but by money actually delivered to vulnerable countries. For Pakistan, climate justice must move beyond speeches and diplomatic assurances. The international community must honour its promises, while Pakistan must invest in modern technology, early-warning systems, rescue capacity and institutional accountability. Protecting human lives must become as important as securing financial assistance.
—The writer is Senior Retd bureaucrat, based in Lahore.
