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Pakistan's Economic Stability Threatened by Climate Change
6 May
Summary
- Climate change poses an immediate threat to Pakistan's economic stability.
- Pakistan faces recurring climate shocks like floods and heatwaves.
- Urgent action needed on adaptation, renewables, and climate finance.
Dawn CEO Nazafreen Saigol Lakhani stated that climate change poses a significant threat to Pakistan's economic stability, public health, and development trajectory. Pakistan is highly vulnerable to recurring climate shocks such as floods, heatwaves, water stress, and poor air quality, which are no longer rare events but recurring disasters affecting real lives and livelihoods.
Lakhani stressed the immediate urgency for Pakistan to prioritize adaptation measures and called for a rebalancing of global climate finance to reflect on-the-ground realities. She also highlighted the need for disciplined energy transition, scaling up renewables, modernizing the grid, and ensuring transition financing supports development without creating unsustainable debt.
Speaking at the Breathe Pakistan International Climate Change Conference in Islamabad, Lakhani emphasized that no single entity can tackle climate change alone. Governments, the private sector, communities, and the media must align their roles for effective progress. Senator Sherry Rehman also addressed the conference, noting the fragmented state of the global climate movement and the environmental cost of active conflicts worldwide.
