Senator Sherry Rehman, the federal minister for climate change, stated on Wednesday that Pakistan has seen the worst climatic catastrophe of the century, let alone Pakistan and that the World Bank has estimated losses at almost $40 billion.
She claimed that Pakistan is currently experiencing the worst climate calamity the world has ever seen while speaking at a press conference. The loss and damage from current floods are significantly more than those from the equivalent catastrophes in 2010, she claimed, thus the World Bank figures are cautious. She continued, “I worry that it will get worse over time.”
According to the minister, 11 districts in Sindh and Balochistan are still under water as a result of stagnant floodwater, making humanitarian relief a monumental undertaking unlike anything we have ever encountered. She explained the need of “green financing” when discussing how an adaptation strategy was necessary to ensure the country’s climate resilience.
Sherry Rehman presided over the Taskforce on Green Financing meeting, where the framework and regulations needed to handle the access to the climate fund were extensively reviewed.
Dr. Jahanzaib Khan, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Government Effectiveness, as well as representatives from the Economic Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Finance Divisions, attended the meeting. The minister made a point of saying, “We are unable to unlock any climate financing despite our need for $101 billion alone for EV Transition,” when discussing the topic of green financing. The only UNFCCC entities in Pakistan that deal with climate financing are GEF and GCF. However, the funding procedure is drawn out and inefficient.
“Adaptation, rebuilding, and mitigation would necessitate significant money, which has not yet shown. We must assess our own capacity to build provincial-level climate governance, she continued.
“We need to seek for additional donor platforms that can give our nation the funding it needs for recovery and resilience. The forthcoming conference of the parties (COP) agenda will include speed and scale for adaptation climate money.
“An estimated 20.6 million people still lack basic necessities, which is more than the combined populations of Portugal and Switzerland,” she stated. Serving a population equivalent to that of two countries is Pakistan’s current challenge, which is a difficult one. Although the rescue operation is now over, we are currently engaged in the longest relief effort ever undertaken by a nation.
“FAO surveys show that 9.4 million acres of standing crops are damaged and swamped, and this will immediately place 14.6 million people in the line of a food and agriculture catastrophe,” the senator stated. After this disaster, we will even need to import food because our export crops are all but destroyed. An additional 15.4 million individuals will be made poorer as a result of the disaster. 7.1 million people still lack adequate nutrition, necessitating a scaled-up response. Women and children make up 70% of the population.
