CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS EFFECTS ON A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: THE CASE OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

The countries which have emitted the least GHGs continue to suffer the greatest burden of the climate crisis. This paper aims to analyze Pakistan as an example of such imbalance. The analysis, based on intergovernmental considerations, peer-reviewed studies of climate change impacts, post-disaster needs assessments and official national policy documents, indicates that Pakistan emits less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions but was the most impacted country by extreme weather in 2022, according to the German climate risk index. The discussion covers the country's multi-hazard exposure, the aggravation of glacial melt in the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalaya region, the increased intensity of monsoon extremes, deadly heatwaves, saltwater intrusion into Indus Delta, and water stress, followed by implications for agriculture, public health, and water security, the coastal zone, and macro-economic stability. The central case is the super-floods of 2022 that impacted 33 million people and caused damages and economic losses of more than US$30 billion. The next review is of Pakistan's policy response, including the updated Nationally Determined Contribution, the National Adaptation Plan and various nature-based mitigation and adaptation strategies, amidst the broader policy landscape of climate finance and loss-and-damage. The paper builds on this diagnosis and presents a series of geographically differentiated measures, including cross-cutting measures of governance, finance, and social protection, as well as a sequence of implementation measures for the mountain, plains, and urban, deltaic, and arid zones. Three general take-home messages round out the conversation: Vulnerability is as much socially-defined as geographically-defined; adaptation funding is far below demand; and the credibility of the international climate regime ultimately depends on how much money flows alongside the words of climate justice.