Shehbaz urges increased climate financing for vulnerable nations

BAKU: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged the world community for redefining the global climate finance to enable climate vulnerable developing countries to meet their nationally-determined contributions (NDCs) goals, half of which may take around US$6.8 trillion by 2030.

The Prime Minister, addressing the high level climate finance roundtable on the sidelines of COP29 — the international climate negotiations’ multilateral forum held under the patronage of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — emphasised the urgent need to build momentum for reforming international financial architecture, forging a path where no nation is left behind in the global response to climate change.

Elaborating the purpose of the roundtable, PM Sharif told the participants that it was intended to foster new thinking on an old problem that was becoming complicated on all the international climate forums without yielding substantial results.

“We stand at a crucial threshold where global climate finance framework must be redefined to effectively meet the needs of vulnerable nations.

Despite years of promises and repeated commitments, the gaps are growing in quantum leaps leading to egregious barriers in achieving objectives of UNFCCC.

“We all agree that financing resilience as well as ambition is the most urgent need of the hour,” the Prime Minister said.

He said the developing countries needed to deliver to their masses on NDCs that was why it was imperative to spur both ideas and discourse to make international climate finance more responsive, equitable and sufficient enough to address solutions at various scale enhancing effectiveness of climate finance.

PM Sharif underscored that the donor countries should fulfill their commitment to provide 0.7 per cent of their gross national income as developing assistance and capitalise existing climate funds.

Pakistan can understand the agony and pain of other vulnerable developing countries as it had faced two devastating floods and still recovering from the loss, he said, adding: “In order to spur some transparency and coordination into the financial commitments made to the developing countries on climate transfers, Pakistan alongside many other developing countries call for stronger, more equitable climate finance mechanisms under the UNFCCC”.

He suggested a mechanism be set up to measure the unfulfilled pledges, fragmented at an incomplete landscape of climate funds to developing countries.

“What I call internationally-determined contributions (IDCs) whereby major historic emitters should account for climate finance commitments for both mitigation and adaptation pledges reflecting their proportionate responsibilities,” he added.

Debt could not become acceptable new normal in climate financing which was why the world should focus on non-debt financing solutions enabling developing countries to fund climate initiatives without depositing an additional burden, he said.

The Prime Minister also highlighted challenges to developing countries in embracing clean energy transition to offset their carbon emission from power sector.

He mentioned that the developing countries looking to enable energy transition should also get preferential capacity and technical assistance in fast tracking consortium financing through various financial instruments. He suggested the UNFCCC to setup a committee to review IDCs periodically.

The forum was also participated by heads of states of different countries and high level dignitaries, state representatives, global experts and international media.

President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon said in order to address global threats and challenges, the world needed to take coordinated actions collectively, especially through financing climate initiatives.

President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Nurgojo uulu Japarov said Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan like many others were expressing their willingness to fulfill the agenda on the table. “We are witnessing climate change that is posing fundamental threat to the sustainable development of regions, countries and the world as a whole,” he said.

Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov extended his gratitude to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for extending the initiative of the roundtable and lauded the team efforts for making it a success.