Cost of climate complacency

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Each year, Pakistan loses over $2 billion to climate-induced disasters. The figure represents far more than just economic damage. It is the cost of political inaction and poor planning. Pakistan ranks among the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world. Floods, droughts and heatwaves strike with increasing frequency, devastating infrastructures and livelihoods. Yet preparedness remains staggeringly inadequate. Vulnerable groups are left exposed, while cities swell under the pressure of rapid urbanisation and outdated planning frameworks.

This grim reality should serve as a clarion call. Instead, it is met with silence or half-measures. As the Asian Development Bank notes, Pakistan's development trajectory is being steadily eroded by the impacts of climate change, with poverty levels stubbornly high and access to essential services declining. The scale of the challenge requires a wholesale rethinking of priorities.

Disaster resilience must be embedded into national policy, not treated as an afterthought. Infrastructure must be built to withstand extreme weather, and urban expansion must be planned with climate adaptation at its heart. Early warning systems, reforestation efforts and investments in water security must become central to government strategy.

Above all, the most vulnerable — the rural poor, women and children — must be placed at the centre of resilience-building efforts. International financing will play a role, but without strong domestic commitment, no amount of external support will be enough.

Pakistan's leaders must confront a simple truth: the economic cost of climate inaction will dwarf the cost of proactive investment. Climate change is a present-day economic crisis. Pakistan must respond with the urgency it demands - or risk paying an even steeper price in the years to come.