Climate Diplomacy & Environmental Challenges in Pakistan — Pakistan Affairs

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No child pages here — short revision notes in the order below.

CSS 2024 Q5 — Global warming as an existential threat (solved on VIII. Non-Traditional Security Threats: Role of Non-State Actors)

Current Tenure — Coalition Governments (2022–Present) — current tenure: 2022 and 2025 floods and climate finance
PTI Government (2018–2022) — PTI 2018–22: Ten Billion Tree Tsunami
Provincial Autonomy — Devolution of Power under the 18th Amendment — environment devolved to provinces under the 18th Amendment

CSS focus: explain causes and effects, use dated evidence, discuss limits and end with a judgment relevant to the wording.

Ranked among top 10 most climate-vulnerable countries (Global Climate Risk Index) despite contributing <1% of global GHG emissions — core of Pakistan's climate diplomacy argument
2022 floods — 1/3 of country submerged, ~$30 billion in damages/losses, 33 million affected — became global case study for climate injustice
Glacial melt — Pakistan has most glaciers outside polar regions (Karakoram, Himalaya, Hindu Kush); GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) risk rising
Water stress, heatwaves (Jacobabad/Sindh among hottest places on Earth), declining agri yields, urban air pollution (Lahore smog crisis)

COP27 (2022, Egypt) — Pakistan chaired G-77 + China bloc; led successful push for Loss and Damage Fund — major diplomatic win
COP28 (2023, Dubai) — continued advocacy for climate finance, operationalization of Loss & Damage Fund
"Living Indus" Initiative — UNDP-backed program for Indus basin ecosystem restoration
National Adaptation Plan (NAP) & Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under Paris Agreement
Ministry of Climate Change coordinates international engagement; criticized for weak institutional capacity relative to scale of challenge

Deforestation, weak enforcement of environmental regulations
Industrial/vehicular pollution driving Lahore/Punjab smog crisis (Nov-Jan annually)
Water contamination — only fraction of population has access to safe drinking water
Coastal erosion & mangrove depletion in Sindh/Balochistan affecting fisheries
Weak climate-resilient infrastructure — repeated flood damage to same regions

Institutionalize climate finance absorption capacity (many pledged funds go unutilized due to weak PC-1/project design capacity)
Provincial climate action plans (climate is devolved subject post-18th Amendment) need better federal coordination
Nature-based solutions: Ten Billion Tree Tsunami programme, wetland restoration
Link climate resilience to CPEC 2.0 and agricultural policy

Pakistan's strongest card: "low emitter, high victim" — use it explicitly.
The Loss and Damage Fund (COP27) is a high-yield fact.
Keep climate diplomacy (international) separate from climate adaptation (domestic).