Jemima urges rich polluters to pay Pakistan for climate change catastrophe

Jemima Goldsmith, the ex-wife of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, has urged rich polluting countries to pay reparations to Pakistan for climate change that caused devastating floods in the country.

“Important to stress that this is too big a catastrophe for individual philanthropy,” she wrote in a tweet.

“Countries that have contributed most to the climate crisis should pay reparations/ consider debt relief for those countries on the frontline like Pakistan thro’ no fault of their own,” she added.

Speaking to BBC news, Jemima said she is trying to raise £500,000 for Pakistan flood victims by auctioning previews of her new film.

The World Bank-led Post Damage and Need Assessment exercise has initially estimated the cost of flood damages and direct losses over $32 billion while 16 out of the 20 poorest districts of Pakistan have been hit the hardest.

A combination of torrential rains – 10 times heavier than usual – and apocalyptic floods have killed nearly 1,700 people across Pakistan since mid-June.

The drenching monsoon, combined with massive floods, has damaged approximately 45% of the country's cropland, posing a serious threat to food security.

The country is also facing a disaster within a disaster as diseases spread rapidly and deaths mount following widespread deadly flooding - a crisis worsened by the country’s weak health system and lack of emergency planning, medical experts warn.

Flooded areas stretching over hundreds of kilometres have become breeding grounds for malaria, dengue fever and diarrhoea, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people living out in the open and with little option but to drink unsafe water.