Floods and lost jobs

Apart from the immediate impact on human life and infrastructure, the 2025 floods also had a lasting impact on the job market, washing away some 3.3 million jobs, according to ILO. This staggering figure is yet another illustration of how much Pakistan has to suffer because of a problem that it has played almost no role in creating - climate change.

Meanwhile, the US, which historically has had the worst impact on the environment, is led by a man who claims climate change isn't real and whose desire to wage war on windmills rivals Don Quixote. But the problem isn't isolated to the climate denier in chief. Even countries that have made massive investments in their own climate preparedness regularly fail to follow through when asked to compensate the victims of their past policies with investments in these developing countries' mitigation infrastructure. This leaves Pakistan and other victims of the developed world's abuse of the environment to fend for themselves.

Despite some initial post-disaster assistance focused on relief activities, foreign aid usually dries up once the immediate effects of the disaster have been addressed. Unfortunately, just because the flood water has receded and people have begun returning home, it does not mean life goes back to normal. Millions of people will be without work, a problem that is most pronounced in rural areas, where farmland can be rendered unusable for several months after a flood, leaving daily-wage farmworkers without any means of supporting themselves. According to ILO data, about 78% of the 3.3 million jobs lost were in rural areas.

The ILO's suggested solutions would go a long way in addressing future climate change-induced calamities, but financing them remains difficult. The world's great polluters are already unwilling to finance relief work when disasters are beamed live onto their TV and phone screens. It will be even harder to convince leaders and taxpayers in these countries to finance years-long operations to increase resilience, create alternative employment opportunities, and offer skills training.