ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Senator Sherry Rehman has called on the COP31 climate summit in Antalya to move beyond declarations and deliver a credible, accessible, and fair system of climate finance, warning that Pakistan and other vulnerable countries are being pushed into a cycle of disasters, debt, and lost development.
In a statement on Friday, the Pakistan Peoples Party vice-president and former climate change minister thanked Türkiye for hosting the conference, saying its presidency offered a chance to bridge the divide between developed and developing countries and restore confidence in multilateral climate action.
“We hope the Antalya conference will be remembered not simply for renewed pledges, but for translating climate solidarity into concrete financial commitments and meaningful outcomes for vulnerable nations,” she said.
Rehman pointed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s warning at the summit’s leaders’ segment that “fossil fuels must go the way of the dinosaurs”, and said the world could no longer afford the gap between climate commitments and continued support for fossil fuels.
“Governments cannot continue subsidising the very industries driving the climate crisis while pleading scarcity of resources when vulnerable countries demand climate finance,” she said, putting global fossil fuel subsidies at about $7 trillion. “The question is not whether the world has the resources, but whether it has the political will to redirect them.”
She said the 1.5C goal was slipping further out of reach. Climate Action Tracker now estimates that current policies put the world on course for about 2.7C of warming by the end of the century, up from its earlier estimate of 2.6C, a figure that hung over the summit’s opening days.
“A 2.7 degrees centigrade trajectory would have devastating consequences for countries like Pakistan, where climate extremes are already undermining livelihoods, food security, water availability and economic stability,” Rehman said. “The cost of inaction will be measured in lost lives, displaced communities and development reversed by decades.”
She recalled that the 2022 floods affected 33 million people in Pakistan and caused about $30 billion in damage and losses, while farm losses from last year’s floods alone have been estimated at $1 billion.
“These are not isolated disasters. They represent a recurring assault on Pakistan’s economy, food security, infrastructure and development prospects,” she said. “Pakistan is not asking for charity. We are demanding climate justice, financial accountability and a fair international system.”
Her call came as Alexander De Croo, head of the UN Development Programme, warned in Antalya on Friday that protecting vulnerable economies from the current El Niño would cost $36 billion if done now and $73 billion if delayed. “Not acting is the most expensive climate policy that you could have,” he said, urging the International Monetary Fund and wealthier nations to help.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told COP31 leaders earlier this week that countries hit hardest by climate disasters need grant-based finance that does not deepen their debt, while negotiators are now working through a wish list that puts the fossil fuel transition back on the table.
