Minister urges developed countries to establish special fund to help calamity-hit Pakistan

Dated : 17 November 2022

Sharm El-Sheikh: Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal urged the developed countries to establish a special fund to help calamity-hit Pakistan.
Climate change is not just a reality but a nightmare for Pakistan as 33 million of its population became direct victims of climate change while 220 million people of Pakistan are indirect victims of climate change, said the Minister while, speaking in the panel discussion at the launching of “Friends of Greening National Investment Plans in Africa and Developing Countries Initiative” on “Solutions Day” hosted by Minister for Planning and Economic Development Egypt Dr. Hala El-Said on the margins of COP27 Climate Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh on Thursday.
Pakistan has recently launched a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) after the successful completion of rescue operations in flood-affected areas. The PDNA report will be presented before the donor conference to be held soon.
The Minister further added that the international monetary system has failed to cope with the agenda of climate change and there is dire need of hour to establish the special fund on loss and damage which help Pakistan to rebuild its infrastructure based on climate resilient. The government is promoting green investment in Pakistan to tackle the growing environmental issue, said the Minister, while stressing the international community to play their constructive role in this regard. It is noted that the production of 10,000 MW electricity through solar panels is one of the key projects which has recently been approved by the Planning Commission.
The incumbent government is taking war-footing steps to promote the sources of renewable energy and several projects have been initiated by Planning Commission which would discourage the use of fossil fuels for electricity production, said the Minister, while stressing the international community to share their experiences about the impacts of climate change so it could be coped in a better way.
While highlighting the challenges faced by Pakistan, despite its less contribution in global warming, the Minister said that Pakistan has been contributing less than 1% in global warming but still it was among those top seven countries which were vulnerable to the climate change risks.
Similarly, the Minister also highlighted the recent project launched by the Planning Commission to uplift the 20 poor districts of Pakistan through sustainable goals at the cost of Rs 40b.