Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday urged the international community to provide grant-based climate financing and substantially increase funding for adaptation and resilience, warning that vulnerable countries could not afford to take on additional debt while confronting increasingly severe climate disasters.
Addressing a high-level session of the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, Türkiye, the prime minister called for stronger international solidarity with developing nations disproportionately affected by climate change.
“When climate disasters strike, vulnerable countries need timely assistance and financing that does not deepen their debt. We call for grant-based finance, including public-private partnerships, alongside a significant increase in resilience and adaptation funds, which are essential for the survival of struggling economies,” he said.
“Climate change knows no borders. No nation can face it alone,” Shehbaz added.
Recalling the devastating floods that struck Pakistan in 2022, the prime minister said nearly one-third of the country had been submerged, destroying standing crops and inundating millions of acres of agricultural land.
He said the disaster affected approximately 33 million people, claimed more than 1,700 lives and caused economic losses exceeding $30 billion.
Highlighting the human consequences of climate disasters, Shehbaz recounted the story of a man preparing for his wedding when floodwaters swept through his home, transforming what should have been a joyous occasion into a tragedy.
The prime minister said the incident reflected the suffering experienced by millions of families in Pakistan and across the developing world as a result of climate-related disasters.
“Four years ago at the UN, I warned that what happened in Pakistan would not stay in Pakistan. Unfortunately, that warning has become a stark reality. The future we feared has become the present we are living,” he said.
Shehbaz emphasised that the growing frequency and severity of climate-related emergencies required collective international action rather than leaving individual countries to manage their consequences alone.
He also acknowledged Türkiye’s support for Pakistan during the catastrophic floods of 2010 and 2022, expressing appreciation for the assistance provided by the Turkish leadership.
Turning to the issue of water security, the prime minister warned against using shared water resources as instruments of political pressure or conflict.
“Water should never be weaponised. No nation should be allowed to put the lives and livelihoods of people downstream at risk. Water-sharing agreements must be honoured in letter and spirit,” he said.
Shehbaz stressed that international cooperation, respect for water-sharing agreements and accessible climate financing were essential to protecting vulnerable populations and ensuring the economic survival of countries facing the consequences of global warming.