Pakistan to push for more climate finance flows at COP29 in Baku: Romina

Abdullah Jan

Islamabad: Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam said Pakistan along with other vulnerable countries would strongly push rich polluting countries to honour their climate finance to help developing nations cope with exacerbating climate impacts and transition to low-carbon future through adaptation and mitigation strategies.

“We are hammering out strong country position to pursue during the upcoming two-week long UN-led global climate talks (COP29), which would focus on several key issues, reflecting our priorities and challenges related to climate change, namely climate finance, adaptation and resilience, loss and damage and mitigation efforts,” She said while delivering a keynote address at the day-long event ‘Pre-COP29 dialogue: Road from Dubai to Baku’.

During the two-week long global climate talks, beginning from November 11, Pakistan would also reiterate the critical need for substantial financial assistance flows from developed countries to support its climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.

She said that Pakistan has been vocal about the need for mechanisms to address loss and damage caused by climate change, particularly for countries that are disproportionately affected despite contributing minimally to global emissions. Therefore, the country’s delegation at the COP29, however, would also call for the fulfillment of prior commitments to ensure vulnerable nations can effectively address climate.

“I must highlight here that Pakistan always advocates for a clear and actionable framework from the rich countries, responsible for global warming, to address loss and damage resulting from unfolding climate crisis in the resource-poor countries like ours that have disproportionately borne the brunt of climate impacts despite minuscule share in overall global carbon emissions,” Romina Khurshid Alam said.

She also emphasized that being a responsible country, Pakistan also stands ready to collaborate with global partners to forge actionable solutions that address the climate crisis facing the global community, public infrastructure and economies.

“We must realize that ‘only together’ we can build a sustainable and resilient future for all through joint enhanced climate action,” Alam stressed.

The PM’s climate aide said that climate action at any level should align with sustainable development and low-carbon goals and achieving this role of the rich countries with finances, technology and technical know-how is of unprecedented importance.

Addressing the event, Secretary climate change & environmental coordination ministry Aisha Humera Moriani said the country, like several other vulnerable nations, is bearing the brunt of the unfolding catastrophe. In 2022, Pakistan was hit by a super flood which affected 33 million people, she recalled.

“As Pakistan navigates the complexities of climate finance change, carbon markets and resilience building as a part of efforts to tackle adverse impacts of climate, it is clear that no meaningful progress can be made without strong collaboration with civil society,” the federal secretary Ms Moriani told the participants.

She said that the climate change and environmental coordination ministry secretary said that as a highly climate vulnerable country that needs around US$ 350 billion till 2030 for a comprehensive response to the climate crisis, Pakistan wants to see a New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance agreed at upcoming COP29 global climate talks.

Earlier in her welcome, remarks, Ayesha Khan, chief executive of the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC), said that it is matter of a serious concern that rich nations have failed to meet their climate finance pledges for the climate vulnerable countries. This has only exacerbated the vulnerability of the poor countries, most of them in Asian countries, to the adverse impacts of climate change.

“The cost of inaction is getting higher with every fraction of increase in the temperature and with every day of delay in realizing our policy objectives,” she remarked.