COP28 summit: Pakistan needs $348bn by 2030 to take climate action

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will strive for operationalisation of $100 billion loss and damage fund and equal funding for the climate change mitigation as well as adaptation at COP28 summit going to held in Dubai from Thursday.

Being the worst affected country due to climate change, Pakistan needs around $348 billion by 2030 to take climate action, both to mitigate and adapt to the unavoidable damages while the country requires $120 billion alone for the adaptation to the climate change in next seven years, Syed Asif Hyder Shah, secretary, Ministry of Climate Change briefed at the ministry.

“A total of $348 billion for mitigation and adaptation will not come through international climate summit COP, said Shah, adding Pakistan will be negotiating for equitable funding for climate change related mitigation and adaptation at COP28.

Pakistan’s 15-member delegation to COP28 in Dubai would be led by caretaker minister for climate change and environment coordination Ahmed Irfan Aslam to sensitize the world on climate adaptation significance and its climate resilience-related projects.

The federal secretary said during the previous COP-27 meeting held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Pakistan played a major role in bringing global agreement on loss and damage fund due to its position as G-77 plus China chairmanship and floods in 2022.

The current, COP-28 conference would focus five key agendas mainly loss and damage fund architecture and its operationalization, first Global Stock Take (GST) report, mitigation work program, global goal on adaptation and climate finance (new collective quantified goal), he added.

The secretary informed that the first effort was to create the fund as an interim fund and then after three years it would be made a standalone fund, whereas its criteria to extend climate finance should focus on developing countries.

“However, the rich developed countries want the fund to be focused on small island developing states (SIDs) and least developed countries, but Pakistan argues that developing countries should also be part of it,” Asif Hyder Shah said.

“Pakistan will sensitize the world that adaptation is equally important as mitigation whereas the countries have given $1 billion target for global climate finance but Pakistan will take its position to scale up this target and it should be more than that,” he said.

On reporting and communication of COP activities, the secretary briefed that timely and perpetual information sharing mechanism was crucial and the ministry was establishing a COP cell and a communication cell dedicated to share correct information related to the global climate conference engagements of the country delegation.

“Globally, the adaptation finance of $34 billion has been diverted from the total pledged climate fund of $100 billion which is doubled for mitigation,” he said.

Shah mentioned that the COP forum did not discuss individual countries but rather debates broader rules and frameworks.

“Not a single penny has been taken from the Government of Pakistan for establishing the COP pavilion and it is being supported by the donors and other,” he said.