Pakistan contributes less than one per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet it ranks among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, with some of the harshest climate extremes experienced in the past decade. This contradiction lies at the heart of the global climate injustice.
\nThe 2022 floods were a grim marker of this imbalance. They displaced over 33 million people, killed more than 1,700, and caused economic damage exceeding $30 billion. From lethal heatwaves to accelerated glacial melt, Pakistan is bearing the brunt of a crisis it did not create. However, recent global research reveals that the world\u2019s richest 10 per cent are responsible for more than two-thirds of the planet\u2019s global warming since 1990. The wealthiest 1 per cent alone emit over 100 times more carbon than the poorest. These facts alone are hard evidence that a small global elite has consumed the carbon space meant for everyone and left developing countries to pay the cost.
\nIt is no longer enough to talk about carbon footprints in general terms. The climate debate would have to move from carbon accounting to climate accountability.
\nFor countries like Pakistan, the cost of adaptation, disaster recovery, and green transition is rising exponentially. Yet climate finance flows remain slow, inadequate, and often debt-inducing. Grants are scarce, and concessional financing is conditional. This model punishes the least responsible and lets the worst emitters off the hook.
\nThe Loss and Damage Fund agreed upon at COP27 was a long-overdue acknowledgement of this injustice. But without binding commitments from major polluters, its existence is symbolic at best. The fund needs to be capitalised urgently and financed by progressive taxation on fossil fuel profits, high-carbon industries, and the ultra-wealthy in the Global North.
\nIt goes without saying that no good can come from assigning blame. What we seek is a correction of structural inequity. The global climate regime cannot succeed unless it reflects historical responsibility and recognises unequal capacity.
\nPakistan should lead with clarity and moral force in demanding what is not charity but entitlement: fairness, compensation, and a rebalancing of the climate contract. The longer the world waits to act on justice, the deeper the damage would be, and ergo, the higher the cost for everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan contributes less than one per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet it ranks among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, with some of the harshest climate extremes experienced in the past decade. This contradiction lies at the heart of the global climate injustice. The 2022 floods were a grim marker of this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-477419","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorial"},"yoast_head":"\n