Pak must unlock global climate finance to future-proof its power grid against climate shocks
THE Paris Agreement (Article 9) mandates developed nations to provide financial resources to support developing country parties’ mitigation and adaptation efforts. Pakistan’s power sector is at the forefront of the climate catastrophe. The 2022 floods exemplified this catastrophe; the vulnerability is evident in minor, recurring incidents: the inundation of the DHA Karachi, KDA and Korangi grids in 2022, the frequent outages during monsoon cloudbursts and the increasing pressure on transmission due to heatwaves. In addition to the operational failures, these climate-triggered disruptions put national security and economic stability at risk.
The solution requires billions in investment for climate-resilient infrastructure; an impossible sum for the national exchequer alone. To address this issue, we have to strategically engage with the global climate finance framework, notably the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Adaptation Fund (AF). This is Pakistan’s right under international climate treaties, which recognizes the disproportionate burden carried by developing countries; it is not charity.
Our existing grid is critically vulnerable. Cloudbursts and urban flooding exceed drainage capacity, resulting in substation inundation, as observed across multiple grids in Karachi in 2022. This causes prolonged outages, equipment corrosion and costly repairs. Other than this, elevated silt levels in rivers, due to harsh weather, also affect hydropower generation and harm turbines. Heatwaves reduce gearbox efficiency and increase the risk of conductor sag and failure. Pakistan’s National Climate Change Policy and its Climate Change Act, 2017, which places a high priority on adaptation and resilience, include mandates for action.
Internationally, the Paris Agreement (Article 9) obligates developed countries to provide financial resources to assist developing country parties with mitigation and adaptation. The GCF and AF are primary vehicles for this. To secure funding, Pakistan needs to develop technically and financially sound projects that clearly explain how they will help mitigate climate change. Here are three great candidates:
A project to bring the grid up-to-date in important cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. It will include substations, innovative faults and advanced monitoring systems. The climatic rationale focuses on making it easier to adapt to heavy rain and urban flooding while ensuring that essential services continue to run. After Hurricane Sandy, New York’s Con Edison spent more than $1 billion on flood barriers, submersible technology and innovative grid improvements. This sets a standard for how governments should invest in resilience.
Installing solar PV systems with battery storage in hospitals, water pumping stations and communication centres that are spread out. This makes the assets more resilient and less reliant on risky transmission over long distances, ensuring they continue to work even when the grid goes down due to a natural disaster. The GCF has given money to Bangladesh’s climate-vulnerable people to build solar mini-grids. This model could be used for Pakistan’s most important infrastructure.
Hardening transmission towers and lines in flood-prone zones, such as along the Indus and areas susceptible to landslides in Northern regions. The climate rationale centres on protecting vital electricity arteries from climate-induced geophysical hazards.
It’s hard and difficult to get these funds, but there is a clear way to do it. The GCF’s National Designated Authority (NDA) in Pakistan is the Ministry of Climate Change. It needs to engage with the Power Division to ensure that modernizing the grid is a major priority in Pakistan’s Country Program with the GCF, in keeping with our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Neither the GCF nor AF funds projects directly. Pakistan must work through an Accredited Entity (AE). There are national organizations (like the Ministry of Climate Change, which wants full accreditation), regional organizations (like the Islamic Development Bank) and international organizations (like the UNDP or the World Bank). To write a good proposal, one needs to work with a strong AE.
The proposal must meet the GCF’s investment criteria: impact potential, paradigm-shifting potential, sustainable development, recipient needs, country ownership and efficiency. A project on “Flood-Resistant Substations for Karachi” must quantify the reduction in outage hours, the economic value of avoided losses and the number of people made more resilient.
The GCF’s Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme can provide grants to build capacity, hire consultants and prepare these complex proposals. This is the critical first step Pakistan should leverage immediately.
The 2022 floods were a wake-up call, we can no longer afford to ignore. Every monsoon that threatens our grids is a drain on our economy and a test of our social contract.
The government, through the Ministry of Climate Change and Power Division, must immediately establish a dedicated Climate Finance Cell for the Energy Sector, commission pre-feasibility studies for the outlined project types using Readiness funding and proactively engage with Accredited Entities to build partnerships.
The funds exist. The frameworks are in place. The need is dire. By mastering the alchemy of turning climate vulnerability into a bankable project proposal, Pakistan can secure the finance not just to protect its grid, but to power a stable, climate-resilient future. The time for action is now, before the next cloudburst or flood becomes a national blackout.
—The writer is an international law expert and an internationally accredited arbitrator and mediator.
