Climate resilience

Pakistan’s flood-affected people may have disappeared from frontpages of newspapers, magazine covers and social media users’ timelines, but their plight is very much here. Pakistan needs $16 billion for its rehabilitation efforts. And while it is making some budgetary adjustments to make up for the loss and damage caused by the 2022 floods, it needs the international community to help raise $8 billion in aid. In this regard, the UN and the Pakistan government are jointly hosting the International Conference on Climate-Resilient Pakistan in Geneva today. Nearly six months have passed since the catastrophic floods hit Pakistan, but parts of the country are still in ruins, compelling the victims to rebuild their homes in whatever way they can. The UN has so far received $816 million in emergency aid since last October, and there are fears that these funds will dry soon. Pakistani officials are also unsure whether the conference will be successful in raising funds. NGOs and other welfare organizations within the country, which usually take some burden off the state, have also failed to raise sufficient funds. Some of the donations pledged during the telethon held by the PTI never reached the country. Recent estimates suggest that around eight million people are still homeless. The floods have damaged road connections as well, keeping the affected places isolated and making it difficult for aid workers to reach there. The ongoing harsh winter yet again calls for a surge in relief activities.

Ideally, the conference should come up with a detailed long-term rehabilitation plan with a strategy supported by solid commitments with timelines. Pakistan is an agriculture-dependent country, and it is important that these immediate plans include a complete dewatering mechanism for all areas and regions still underwater. Without such dewatering, farmers cannot undertake any new agricultural activity on their lands. Any further delay in rehabilitation may result in more economic hardship for the already vulnerable people. Second, infrastructure restoration is equally important. Healthcare facilities and schools that were washed away during the floods require huge resources for their repair. The new buildings so constructed should be resilient, durable enough to withstand the harshness of floods in the future – the harsh reality is that such floods will soon become the new normal.

Climate shocks are likely to be the new normal in coming years and building overall resilience will be of paramount significance for Pakistan. The support for the international community must accelerate as there is no room for any more delays now. COP27 has exposed rich countries’ lack of willingness to step forward to help developing countries pay for the climate-induced damage. Donor countries must not look at it as a case of charity. Pakistan’s carbon emissions are less than one per cent, and it is paying the price for the unchecked, environmentally unsafe activities of the developed world. Second, Pakistan is an integral part of the global supply chain, and disruptions in this part will have devastating effects on world economies. The 4R framework of resilient recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction is a roadmap that needs long-term commitments, and there is strong hope that the conference will be able to set up a mechanism for its implementation.