Financing critical for climate resilience

Senate Committee on Climate Change Chairperson Senator Sherry Rehman has underscored the critical role of development organisations in fostering climate resilience by providing adequate funding.

She, along with other prominent speakers, spoke at a pre-COP29 panel discussion titled "Bridging the Gap: Humanitarian/Development Agencies and Climate Adaptation in Pakistan" at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS).

Rehman underlined the need for local climate action backed by robust international financing and advocated proactive measures in flood-prone areas to prevent the escalating climate impact. She urged major emitters to honour their Internationally Determined Contributions, calling for a Global Goal on Adaptation to prioritise funding for on-ground initiatives.

The senator emphasised that climate financing for the Global South should be directed towards the adaptation initiatives and not just reporting. In his remarks on the occasion, IRS President Jauhar Saleem highlighted the potential role of COP29 in advancing climate adaptation efforts and ensuring essential funding.

He stressed the importance of decentralised approaches to climate adaptation, while ensuring that strategies were tailored to local contexts to address diverse climate challenges effectively.

He shared that the IRS was holding a number of pre-COP discussions to generate concrete recommendations for COP9.

UNDP Pakistan Resident Representative Dr Samuel Rizk advocated coordinated government action for addressing climate change. He drew attention to the rapid population growth and worsening climate impacts as significant challenges for Pakistan, which were exacerbating vulnerabilities for the marginalised communities. Similarly, National Disaster Risk Management Fund CEO Bilal Anwar laid stress on transformative adaptation initiatives to meet the challenges of climate change.