Pakistan's climate fight faces funding cuts

Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Chairperson Senator Sherry Rehman on Thursday termed continued cuts in climate allocations "shocking", warning that Pakistan was entering a period of heightened climate vulnerability marked by intensifying heatwaves, accelerated glacier melt, erratic rainfall, worsening water insecurity and growing environmental stress in urban centres.

Chairing a meeting of the committee, Rehman expressed concern over the shrinking Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation for the climate ministry, which stands at Rs2.478 billion for 2026-27 after declining from Rs3.5bn to Rs2.7bn in the previous fiscal year.

"Climate risks are increasing, not decreasing. Yet allocations continue to shrink while implementation challenges persist," she said, while also noting that the ministry had struggled to fully utilise previously allocated funds. The senator questioned the rationale behind establishing the Climate Change Authority, arguing that climate governance required stronger coordination rather than additional bureaucratic structures.

"What is the function of this authority, and what is it doing that the climate ministry cannot achieve?" she asked, describing it as another state-owned entity (SOE) without clearly defined objectives.

Referring to government figures, she noted that losses incurred by SOEs reached Rs832.8bn in FY2025, while cumulative losses had climbed to Rs6.56 trillion. She added that Rs451bn had again been allocated to SOEs in the current budget.

The committee also reviewed Pakistan's preparedness for the upcoming monsoon season, with detailed briefings from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

NDMA Chairman Inam Haider Malik informed lawmakers that the 2026-27 period was expected to be influenced by El Niño conditions, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events and greater climate variability across the region.