Conservation funding gap

A new UN report has warned that the world faces an annual funding gap of $300 billion to $1 trillion for nature conservation. This financial chasm threatens not only our environment, but the very foundations of the global economy — the report says that over half of the world's GDP, or roughly $58 trillion, is moderately or highly dependent on nature.

Currently, a meager $200 billion is invested in conservation each year, representing less than 1% of global GDP. This is in stark contrast to the trillions invested in activities that actively harm biodiversity. The UN analysis underscores that synergy between climate action and sustainable development is the best way forward, estimating that good policies could lead to 40% greater efficiency in government spending.

For a country like Pakistan, these are not abstract figures but a numerical representation of the devastating real-world consequences of climate change. Ranked first on the Climate Risk Index despite contributing less than 1% to global emissions, Pakistan is not only incapable of financing the necessary climate adaptation initiatives, but has also been let down by the developed world, which bears almost all of the historical — and modern-day — responsibility for climate change. The 2022 floods alone inflicted over $30 billion in damages, yet the international community has failed to deliver on pledges for recovery assistance.

Experts now warn that Pakistan requires between $40 billion and $50 billion annually just to mitigate its climate risks — a figure that dwarfs all the assistance Pakistan has ever received and is almost equal to the entire FY26 federal budget.

Bridging the conservation finance gap is both an economic and moral imperative. It requires structural reforms, rethinking economic priorities, subsidies and taxes, scaling up private sector investment, and ensuring that international pledges are more than empty promises. The cost of inaction, as demonstrated by Pakistan's recurring floods, will be far greater.