According to the Climate Risk Index (CRI) for 2025 released by European think-tank Germanwatch recently, Pakistan is the most vulnerable country to climate change which is having a devastating effect on the economies of many countries.
The report says that due to recurrent floods, unprecedented monsoon rainfall, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and other factors, tens of millions of Pakistanis have had their homes and livelihoods destroyed and thousands of lives have been lost. The report notes that before the floods in 2022, Pakistan witnessed severe heatwaves from March to May, which resulted in GLOFs in northern Pakistan and record-breaking monsoon rainfall. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Pakistan witnessed 300-400 percent more rainfall than usual over the last few years.
Due to climate change, the number of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, storms, and heat waves are increasing and gradually becoming the “new normal” in some regions of the world. The Climate Risk Index 2025 shows that over the last 30 years, global south countries have been particularly affected by the impacts of extreme weather events. Between 1993 and 2022, more than 9,400 extreme weather events occurred, killing almost 800,000 people and causing economic damages totalling US$4.2 trillion.
Most vulnerable countries are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change partly due to their limited financial and technical capabilities to adapt and manage losses and damages. The first line of defence is for high-emitting countries to significantly reduce carbon emissions, and stop them at the source — if we are to reduce the vulnerability of the countries. According to the report, wildfires in the Amazon since 2005 have engulfed 22 million hectares of forests; heatwaves in Asia, the Mediterranean, and Mexico have severely affected people and ecosystems.
It is feared that by 2050, climate change can bleed the global economy to the tune of $38tr annually. The situation will continue to worsen unless the world rises to the challenge of slowing and stopping climate change and protecting people and communities from unavoidable climate impacts. The most effective way to slow and stop climate change is to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and to clean renewable energy. Another way to protect people and communities from the adverse impacts of climate change is to take actions that increase their climate resilience.
According to experts, every government — national, state and local governments — must rise to these challenges to protect their people. Climate experts have advised that the policymakers should identify communities which are most vulnerable and provide them with the necessary support to build their resilience. Timely communication of extreme weather events to frontline communities is critical for facilitating swift evacuations and effective disaster risk reduction measures. This must be complemented by strengthened prevention and preparedness strategies in order to enhance resilience and minimize impact.
The developed countries that have historically caused so much of the climate problem have shown no willingness to contribute their due share to solving the climate problem, and this leaves so many of the poorest and most vulnerable countries helpless in the face of climate calamity. The climate risk report points out that COP29 failed to yield an ambitious New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance, calling for greater support by high-emitting countries for the most vulnerable countries to tackle the climate crisis.
As per the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Pakistan has emitted only 0.93% of the global greenhouse gases. However, it is deeply affected by climate change. The World Bank Group says that Pakistan is expected to lose at least 18-20% of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050 due to severe climate-related incidents, environmental deterioration and air pollution.
Pakistan is the only country in the CRI list having a National Adaptation Plan. The question now is of implementation of this plan and other adaptation and other disaster risk reduction projects currently in place in Pakistan. Since 2022, Pakistan has adopted disaster management and risk reduction strategies, developing an early warning infrastructure, and sharing tools and approaches with neighbouring countries. To make Pakistan more resilient to climatic impacts, there is an urgent need for a massive increase in the flow of finance from international sources for climate adaptation into Pakistan.
While Pakistan is taking steps to build out its own climate financing infrastructure, climate justice demands that those primarily responsible for climate change – the global North – must fulfil their ecological obligation. To address the challenge of climate change and achieve meaningful adaptation, climate finance becomes an indispensable need. For a country like Pakistan, which is highly vulnerable to climate change, the availability of robust financial resources is critical for building resilience and protecting its people. Climate finance refers to local, national or transnational financing drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing that seeks to support adaptation actions that will address emerging ecological changes.