With the climate crisis intensifying across the Global South, Pakistan has emerged as one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, despite contributing less than 1% to global greenhouse gas emissions. As glacial melts and floods devastate various areas of the country, and heatwaves and drought cycles make day-to-day life more difficult. Pakistan has dealt with more than it deserves and now stands at the frontline of climate-induced disasters. But beyond adaptation and resilience, Pakistan’s position also demands a sustained, proactive diplomatic strategy — one that seeks international climate justice, financing, and cooperation.
In recent years, Pakistan’s climate diplomacy has become more visible, vocal, and aligned with global multilateralism. However, chronic economic instability, geopolitical distractions, and implementation bottlenecks at home continue to hinder the translation of international support into domestic resilience.
A Country on the Climate Frontline
Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change is structural and multifaceted. According to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, Pakistan ranked among the top ten countries most affected by climate-linked events over the past two decades. The 2022 floods—submerging one-third of the country, displacing over 33 million people, and causing $30+ billion in damages—brought global attention to the disproportionate suffering of developing nations.
In the north, accelerated glacial melt in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region has triggered erratic river flows and heightened the risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). In the south, extreme heat and shifting monsoon patterns continue to threaten food security, urban infrastructure, and rural livelihoods. These environmental shocks are not episodic anomalies — they are systemic indicators of climate disruption, with far-reaching human and economic consequences.
Diplomatic Engagements and Global Forums
Pakistan’s diplomatic machinery has increasingly sought to frame climate change not merely as an environmental issue, but as a development, security, and justice imperative. Key platforms for this engagement include:
COP27 and the Loss & Damage Breakthrough
At the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), Pakistan — serving as chair of the G77+China bloc — played a leading role in advocating for a Loss and Damage Fund to support climate-vulnerable nations. The eventual agreement, largely shaped by Pakistan’s experience post-floods, was a watershed moment in climate diplomacy.
Geneva Donors Conference 2023
Co-hosted by Pakistan and the UN, the conference secured over $9 billion in pledges for post-flood reconstruction and resilience efforts. While disbursement remains slow, the pledges underscore international recognition of Pakistan’s climate plight.
South-South Cooperation
Islamabad has sought stronger partnerships with countries like China, Turkey, Indonesia, and Qatar for climate technology transfer, renewable energy investment, and disaster preparedness.
Despite these efforts, institutional follow-through remains uneven. Many pledges are conditional, loans dominate over grants, and local implementation lags due to capacity constraints, politicisation, and administrative inertia.
The Green Agenda and Domestic Challenges
Pakistan’s domestic climate initiatives have been ambitious in vision but mixed in outcome.
- Ten Billion Tree Tsunami (TBTTP), launched in 2019, gained international praise and funding but has been criticised for poor transparency, over-reporting, and short-term planning.
- Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement commit Pakistan to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 (conditional on international support). Yet, the energy transition remains sluggish due to coal investments, circular debt, and energy security fears.
- The National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and Climate Smart Agriculture Framework are under development but face bureaucratic delays and weak inter-provincial coordination.
Moreover, climate action in Pakistan often suffers from policy discontinuity. Changing political leadership has resulted in inconsistent priorities, undermining the longevity and credibility of climate programmes.
Financial Constraints and the Case for Climate Justice
Pakistan’s climate diplomacy also faces the hard reality of fiscal stress. With external debt soaring and IMF conditionalities in place, the government’s fiscal space for large-scale climate investment is minimal. The growing gap between climate ambition and fiscal capacity has made climate financing a central pillar of diplomatic engagement.
Pakistan continues to call for:
- Access to grant-based finance, not just concessional loans
- Debt-for-climate swaps
- Simplified access to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Loss and Damage financing mechanisms
- Recognition of climate-vulnerable countries as a special category in multilateral lending institutions
The underlying demand is simple but profound: those who have polluted the most must pay the most.
Geopolitics and the Climate Narrative
Pakistan’s climate advocacy must also navigate a complex geopolitical environment. Regional tensions — particularly with India — limit bilateral climate cooperation despite shared environmental risks in the Indus Basin and Himalayan ecosystems.
Meanwhile, global partners increasingly seek climate co-benefits in trade and strategic cooperation, including the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and China’s interest in green corridors under CPEC. However, leveraging these partnerships requires stable governance, credible project pipelines, and transparent financial accountability.
Diplomacy Must Be Matched by Delivery
Pakistan has successfully repositioned itself as a flagbearer for climate justice, especially among vulnerable nations. Its calls for equity, resilience financing, and systemic reform in global climate governance are widely supported. Yet, the path from diplomatic recognition to domestic transformation remains long and uneven.
To maintain credibility and secure sustained international support, Pakistan must:
- Enhance transparency and delivery in climate projects
- Integrate climate risk into core economic and urban planning
- Build capacity at the provincial and local levels
- Institutionalise climate policy beyond political cycles
Climate diplomacy may open doors, but it is domestic preparedness and institutional continuity that will determine whether Pakistan can weather the coming storms — both environmental and political.
