ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is spending up to $10 billion annually to tackle the negative effects of climate change, especially in the northern regions.
Data shared by the Ministry of Climate Change showed that federal and provincial governments spend between six and ten billion dollars annually to tackle climate change-related issues such as hurricanes, cyclones, heatwaves, floods and melting glaciers.
It said that Pakistan contributes less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but still, it continues to climb the ladder of climate vulnerability every year. Climate change has already affected Pakistan's economy in the form of increased frequency of floods and droughts, low crop yields, erratic weather patterns, low availability of fresh water and loss of biodiversity. Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its geographical location, high dependence on agriculture and water resources, low adaptive capacity of its people and weak emergency preparedness system.
There should be a compensation mechanism with allocation of funds, especially for countries like Pakistan which are facing huge losses to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to the effects of climate change.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said climate action has become imperative to avert a variety of disasters, including recurrent floods, droughts, wildfires and heatwaves.
“Pakistan is spending billions of dollars annually to tackle the negative effects of climate change. The international community must fulfill its commitment and provide financial assistance to countries like Pakistan from the Climate Fund.