Each passing monsoon season deepens Pakistan’s wounds. Floods swallow villages, displace millions, and cripple livelihoods. Yet, amid this recurring devastation, one fact stands out starkly: Pakistan contributes less than one percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, but it is among the top countries most vulnerable to climate change. This is not mere misfortune—it is injustice.
The climate disasters we suffer are not the product of our own industrial excesses. They are the legacy of two centuries of fossil-fuel-driven development in the developed world. The industrial powers of Europe and North America built their prosperity by burning coal and oil, while the Global South bears the consequences in the form of floods, droughts, and heatwaves. Why should Pakistan pay for the sins of others? Why should our children suffer because others lit the fire that is now consuming the planet?
It is here that Pakistan’s foreign policy and environmental leadership must converge. Our environment minister, foreign minister, and all relevant government bodies need to take a proactive, coordinated stance at international forums, especially the United Nations. Climate reparations—or at the very least, a robust "Loss and Damage Fund"—must not be treated as charity from the rich world but as an obligation, a payment of debt owed.
Pakistan’s diplomats, including figures such as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other seasoned envoys, must press the case with conviction and clarity. The world’s conscience is not moved by mere appeals to sympathy—it is moved by hard facts, moral arguments, and political persistence. Pakistan must demonstrate, with data and lived reality, how our negligible emissions contrast with the scale of destruction we endure. The images of submerged towns and displaced families should not only draw pity but also compel accountability.
Global forums have begun acknowledging this imbalance, but acknowledgement without action is insufficient. The developed nations pledged billions in climate finance, yet the disbursement remains meagre and slow. Pakistan’s leadership must demand timelines, binding commitments, and transparent mechanisms to ensure that promised funds do not remain locked in bureaucratic negotiations.
Climate justice is no longer a distant slogan. It is a survival imperative. Pakistan must rally other vulnerable states to build a strong coalition that shifts the narrative: this is not about aid, it is about reparations; not about generosity, but about justice.
If the state can present its case firmly, persistently, and with international alliances, the developed world will have no choice but to listen. Pakistan’s people cannot—and should not—be left to drown in the floodwaters of a crisis they did not create.
