Minister Malik Warns of Massive GDP Loss and Student Displacement

Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik delivered a sobering keynote address in Lahore titled “Living with Floods in Climate Change.” Addressing a gathering at a local hotel, the minister highlighted the catastrophic human and economic toll of the country’s recent climate-induced disasters. He revealed that four major floods have displaced 40 million people in total, with nearly 20 million children, half of the displaced population, unable to attend school, threatening the educational future of an entire generation.

Malik underscored a stark global inequity: while Pakistan contributes less than 1% to global carbon emissions, it bears a disproportionate burden of the consequences. He noted that two neighboring countries account for 40% of global emissions, yet the ten nations responsible for 75% of global carbon receive 85% of international green financing. The economic impact on Pakistan is equally severe; despite an annual GDP growth rate of 3-4%, a single major flood in the recent past wiped out 9.8% of the country’s GDP, effectively erasing years of development progress.

The minister reiterated the government’s 300-day emergency plan to repair flood-damaged infrastructure and called for international “climate justice,” emphasizing that loans are not a sustainable solution for the vulnerabilities created by external carbon emitters.

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