KARACHI:
Pakistan has asked the international community to pay for the latter’s climate injustices, whose catastrophic repercussions are being borne by the developing world. Floods wreaking havoc across Pakistan are primarily attributed to the changing climate despite the country sending a minute quantity of emissions into the atmosphere compared to the developed world. In his recent visit to the flood-affected areas, the UN Secretary-General also advocated for the cause to support the country in battling the disastrous consequences of the changing climate driven mainly by the greedy economic policies of the developed West.
It is heartening to see planeloads of relief goods pouring in from across the world, besides a few countries pledging financial aid for rescue and relief operations. While it is expected that the assistance received from across the world would be sufficient for providing short-term relief to the suffering families, it is far less than needed for the permanent rehabilitation of displaced families. The world had hardly recovered from significant economic contraction caused by the Covid pandemic that the Russia-Ukraine war dealt a fatal blow to the fragile global economy. Russia is using substantial gas and oil supplies as an economic weapon in retaliation for the West’s biting sanctions. Besides, vast supplies of wheat and staples have been impeded, causing commodity prices to skyrocket.
Amid the aforementioned scenario, it would be naïve to expect the world to support us much in tackling the calamity. It is high time to introduce economic reforms to generate additional revenue on our own.
Asad Aziz
Khushab
Published in The Express Tribune, September 15th, 2022.
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