Pakistan is ranked<\/a> among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable countries, according to the Global Climate Risk Index<\/a>. It has faced increasingly frequent and severe weather events, such as unprecedented floods, intense monsoon rains, devastating heat waves, rapid glacial melting and glacial lake outburst floods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Addressing the summit, PM Shehbaz asserted that COP29 should \u201cmake this understanding loud and clear that we will have to fulfil those financial pledges\u201d committed at COP27<\/a> and COP28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd yet, I think, those huge financial commitments have to be materialised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prime minister said the event was aimed at understanding the \u201ccalamities which, unfortunately, some of the countries have already faced and some will if we do not act\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Referring to the 2015 Paris Agreement<\/a>, PM Shehbaz said: \u201cTen years ago in Paris, we had failed to stop the rise in emissions and catastrophic global warming, and those pledges in Paris 10 years ago, which were made have yet to see the light of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs the minus-one emitters, we should not brave the impact of emissions realised by others without even the tools to finance resilience,\u201d he emphasised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout climate justice, there can be no real resilience,\u201d the prime minister asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PM Shehbaz further said Pakistan would \u201cgo through a renewable energy revolution\u201d, noting that the country last year presented a \u201ccomprehensive National Adaptation Plan\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He continued: \u201cThis year, we have developed our National Carbon Market Framework. But we cannot do it alone. Pakistan needs international support to deliver on its climate ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy government has taken concrete actions to deliver on its commitment of producing 60 per cent of all energy from green sources and shifting 30pc of our vehicles to EVs (electric vehicles) by the end of this decade,\u201d he told the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The premier stated that developing countries would need an estimated $6.2 trillion by 2030 to implement less than half of their current Nationally Determined Contributions<\/a> (NDCs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe same goes for adaption and loss and damage,\u201d he added, recalling the efforts at COP27 led by then-climate change minister Sherry Rehman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PM Shehbaz also spoke about the devastating monsoon floods of 2022, highlighting they had resulted in 1,700 deaths, massive displacement, destruction of houses and crops, and $30 million loss to the country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He called on the international community \u201cto take measures which are so important at this point in time to have a conducive environment\u201d to combat climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prime minister stressed that Pakistan was one of the countries that \u201chardly contribute\u201d to global emissions, yet it was vulnerable to climate change and listed as one of the \u201c10 countries which can, God forbid, face this kind of devastation again\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy memories are still fresh,\u201d he said, recalling meeting with flood affectees in Balochistan, including a boy named Ikramullah who had \u201clost everything\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHis entire village was erased from the face of the earth, his home was completely demolished, and his school was also submerged. And we had arranged his education to another part of Pakistan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PM Shehbaz stated he would not want \u201cother countries to face the plight Pakistan faced back in 2022\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Describing Pakistan as a \u201cresilient, hard-working and responsible nation\u201d, the premier affirmed his country was \u201cfully committed to being part of the global climate solutions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Concluding his speech, the prime minister expressed the hope that under Azerbaijan\u2019s leadership, COP29 can transform into a \u201cfinance COP by restoring confidence in the pledging process and scaling up climate finance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI strongly feel that climate finance must be grant-based and not add to the debt burden of vulnerable developing countries,\u201d he said, reiterating his remarks from yesterday on the sidelines of the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTwo years ago, I warned, and I warned at the top of my voice, that the future would never forgive our inaction. Today, I echo the same,\u201d PM Shehbaz asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at a Pakistan-organised conference at COP29 yesterday, PM Shehbaz had said debt cannot<\/a> become the \u201cacceptable new normal\u201d in climate financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had explained that finan\u00adc\u00ading in the form of loans pushes developing nations towards \u201cmounting debt traps\u201d, which he ref\u00aderred to as \u201cdeath traps\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at Glaciers 2025: Actions for Glaciers<\/a>, the prime minister had also linked humanity\u2019s survival with the health of glaciers, saying Pakistan was ready to work with the world on the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>\u2018Debt cannot be new normal\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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