Pakistan has called on the international community to ensure fast, grant-based and predictable financing for climate-vulnerable developing nations, warning that repeated extreme weather events are pushing low-emitting countries into deeper debt and slowing development gains.
The appeal was made at a high-level side event titled “Operationalising Loss and Damage: Financing Resilience and Recovery in Vulnerable Countries”, co-hosted by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination and UNICEF at the Pakistan Pavilion during the COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil.
In her keynote address, Climate Change Secretary Aisha Humera Moriani said Pakistan is investing heavily in strengthening climate resilience, despite contributing less than one per cent to global emissions. She recalled the 2022 and 2025 floods, which displaced millions, caused large-scale infrastructure losses and inflicted multi-billion-dollar damages.
“The scale and frequency of such disasters show the disproportionate climate burden placed on countries that played almost no role in warming the planet,” she said.
Representatives from the newly established Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), development partners and technical experts joined the discussion, which focused on practical steps to operationalise the global Loss and Damage mechanism. Panellists said repeated climate shocks have pushed vulnerable economies toward a “debt emergency,” forcing them to borrow for reconstruction due to insufficient grant-based support. They called for new, additional and concessional financing to ensure Loss and Damage assistance becomes transformative.
Speakers highlighted that children were among the most affected, with nearly half of Pakistan’s population under 18. Moriani said recurring disasters were undermining nutrition, health, education and mental wellbeing. “Climate disasters are not only destroying infrastructure — they are robbing a generation of its right to safety and opportunity,” she warned.
Participants also emphasised that the Barbados Implementation Modalities (BIM), including simplified applications, faster disbursements and flexible financing windows, are essential to ensure timely and equitable access for countries with limited fiscal space. They added that mechanisms must be equipped to respond to slow-onset threats such as glacial melt, sea-level rise and desertification.
Ministry spokesperson Muhammad Saleem Shaikh said the discussion centred on channelling support toward the most vulnerable groups, especially children and young people. He noted that non-economic losses, including trauma, displacement, cultural disruption and community breakdown, remain largely overlooked in global policy.
He said Pakistan announced its readiness to submit two proposals under FRLD’s first funding cycle, targeting reconstruction of essential social infrastructure and strengthening resilience in agriculture, community systems and water resources. While Pakistan continues to mobilise domestic resources, he added, the scale of climate-induced losses far exceeds national capacity.
Reiterating Pakistan’s stance that Loss and Damage finance is a matter of national survival, the ministry called for adherence to climate justice and the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC).
“Climate justice demands immediate access. Our people cannot wait,” the statement said, urging developed countries and multilateral institutions to move from political commitments to actual financial delivery.
Moriani reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to working with the UN, international partners and climate-finance bodies to build a fair global framework for climate recovery, ensuring vulnerable states receive the resources needed to rebuild and adapt in the face of intensifying climate impacts.
