- World Bank poll finds support for climate and water initiatives up to 34% and 35% respectively
Pakistan has called for annual climate adaptation financing of $7–14 billion by 2030, warning that global funding mechanisms are failing to deliver timely support to vulnerable nations, even as a new World Bank survey shows climate change and water have become top national priorities.
Addressing the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Rome Water Dialogue, Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Syed Tauqir Shah said climate finance is being held back by bureaucracy rather than a lack of resources. He warned that frontline countries like Pakistan are unable to access critical support due to complex approval processes and debt-based lending.
“Water crises are no longer an abstract policy discussion but an existential challenge,” Dr Shah said, noting that Pakistan has now crossed into official water scarcity, with extreme weather and resource stress threatening food security.
He said Pakistan’s situation swings between “devastating abundance,” such as the 2022 floods affecting over 33 million people, and “crippling scarcity,” with storage limited to 30 days of national demand.
Dr Shah urged reforms in global climate finance institutions, saying that most available support comes in the form of loans rather than grants, deepening debt for already fragile economies. Citing the Green Climate Fund, he said project approvals can take over 24 months, followed by months of delay in disbursement.
“We call upon global partners to shift from an architecture of complexity and debt to one of speed and trust,” he said, proposing blended finance, green bonds, and insurance-based tools to help smallholders and water-dependent communities adapt to climate stress.
Meanwhile, results from the World Bank’s Pakistan Country Opinion Survey 2025 show that climate change and water management have risen sharply among Pakistan’s development priorities. Support for climate initiatives increased from 5% in 2021 to 34% in 2025, while support for water and sanitation rose from 9% to 35% over the same period.
However, the survey also recorded a decline in perceptions of the World Bank Group’s (WBG) support in key areas such as governance, education, and water. Respondents urged the Bank to move beyond federal engagement and focus more on provincial and community-level collaboration for effective implementation.
According to the findings, 48% of respondents viewed financial resources as the WBG’s greatest value to Pakistan, followed by technical assistance (32%) and knowledge products (33%). More than half said the Bank had improved its work in helping people’s lives and being easier to work with, though collaboration with parliament and local bodies remained weak.
The survey found the WBG among the most trusted development partners in Pakistan, alongside the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank. However, local government respondents were more critical of the Bank’s operations compared to officials from federal and bilateral agencies.
Dr Shah’s address and the survey together reflect Pakistan’s growing focus on climate resilience and institutional accountability. As the country faces recurring floods, droughts, and fiscal constraints, officials warn that without faster and fairer access to global climate funds, development targets tied to clean water and food security could remain out of reach beyond 2030.
