Dar calls for honouring climate finance pledges

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday called on the developed nations to honour their climate finance pledges to provide accessible and grants-based climate financing to achieve developing counties' climate goals.

He made the remarks while attending a high-level event convened by the United Secretary-General on 'Delivering Early Warnings for All (EW4All) and Addressing Extreme Heat' on the sidelines of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29).

Addressing the high-level event, the deputy prime minister/foreign minister reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to safeguarding lives and protecting communities from the unpredictable and severe impacts of climate change.

He emphasized the importance of early warning systems for climate-induced hazards, including floods, glacial lake outbursts, droughts, and extreme heat.

Over a decade Pakistan was consistently being ranked among the top ten countries mostly impacted by climate change, he said, adding the devastating floods of 2022 were the harsh reminder of their vulnerability resulting in a catastrophic loss of over $30 billion and affecting 33 million people in the country. Homes, buildings and essential infrastructure were swept away.

If we had any early warning system, much of these impacts could have been mitigated, enabling them to respond proactively and to avoid such immense sufferings, he added.

Climate investment

Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that the existing international financial architecture was skewed against climate responsive investment in developing countries.

Dar said Pakistan remained among the top ten countries most impacted by climate change.

Dar said Pakistan remained committed to climate action in collaboration with international community.

"We spend 20% of annual public sector program on Climate Responsive Public Investment ranging from integrated flood response to investment in renewal energy and climate smart agriculture. Pakistan's National Climate Finance Strategy aims to utilize climate finance to address both our mitigation and adaptation needs," he further informed. APP