Hassan Ahmad
The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convenes under the theme “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.” For Pakistan, this forum is an opportunity to highlight climate change as the most urgent test of collective responsibility.
While UNGA calls for shared responsibility, Pakistan illustrates injustice of climate change. Despite contributing less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it ranks among the top ten most vulnerable countries. Pakistan should raise the compelling issue of climate change at UNGA forum to seek the due global attention.
The 2022 floods in Pakistan were a stark reminder of the country’s vulnerability to climate-related disasters. The floods submerged one-third of the country, affected 33 million people, destroyed 2 million homes, damaged 4.4 million acres of crops, caused 1,700 deaths, and led to $30 billion in economic losses. Unfortunately, the threat persists. In 2025, heavier-than-normal monsoon rains and cloudburst floods have already claimed over 800 lives since late June. Undoubtedly, the climate change crisis is rapidly evolving and prolonged inaction would add to catastrophic in future. Pakistan is facing a mass of climate-related challenges.
Country has witnessed record-breaking heat waves in recent past years. Temperatures above 50°C have triggered heatstroke, dehydration, and mortality among vulnerable communities. Glacial melt is also a serious outcome of rising temperatures. The accelerated melting of glaciers in Pakistan’s mountainous regions brings short-term floods and long-term water scarcity for millions who rely on glacier-fed rivers.
This phenomenon is affecting multiple domains including agriculture, livelihoods, ecosystems and local tourism industry. Obviously, reduction in agricultural productivity will pose a direct threat to the country’s food security and economy. Pakistan’s experience underscores the urgent need for dedicated international funding for adaptation, resilience vis – a- vis loss and damage response. This is not aid but a global obligation. The UNGA must affirm that addressing climate injustice is central to shared responsibility and the credibility of multilateral actions. Reckoning of climate change as a global challenge merits befitting response from those countries which are involved in worsening the environment with gas emissions.
The international community must come together to address the climate crisis. Pakistan’s situation serves as a stark reminder of the disproportionate impact of climate change on all vulnerable countries. Befitting urgent global response is needed to curtail the expansion of climate crisis. Dedicated funding is one essential step to enhance the capacity of climate affected countries for adaptation, resilience and rebuilding with special focus on loss and damage response.
Sustained climate specific financial support would enable the countries like Pakistan to tackle the evolving crisis. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is another challenge of serious nature. Global efforts to reduce emissions can help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Countries responsible for higher gas emissions should be made accountable by systematic imposition of loss and damage compensation payments to affected regions.
Mandate of UNGA demands formulation of a sustainable climate-resilient development mechanism for collective benefit of member nations. Special focus on climate-resilient infrastructure development, agriculture enhancement, and livelihoods growth can help communities in adapting to the evolving challenges of climate change.
In the context of current UNGA session, Pakistan’s climate crisis serves as a call to action for the global community. It is time for collective responsibility and equally matching actions to address the climate crisis. By working together, global community can reduce the impacts of climate change and build a more resilient and sustainable future for all.
The writer is a student.
