Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United Nations (UN) are holding a major conference on Monday in Geneva aimed at providing support to rebuild Pakistan after devastating floods in what is expected to be a main test case for who pays for climate disasters.
In a catastrophe attributed to climate change, record monsoon rains and melting glaciers last September caused the displacement of 8 million people and the death of at least 1,700 people. Although the majority of the flood waters have now subsided, the estimated $16.3 billion restoration project to rebuild millions of houses and thousands of kilometers of roads and railways has only begun, and millions more people risk falling into poverty. The delegation from Islamabad, led by Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif will give a “framework” for recovery during the conference, which will also feature remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
However, it is far from clear where the funding for reconstruction will come from, particularly in light of the challenges in raising money for the emergency humanitarian phase of the response, which, according to UN data, is only around half funded.
Pakistan was at the frontline of efforts that led to the establishment of a “loss and damage” fund to pay climate-related damage for countries that have less contribution to global warming than wealthy ones at the COP27 conference in Egypt in November.
Pakistan’s ambassador to United Nations
With a $350 billion economy, Pakistan may or may not be able to access that future funding, but that is not yet known. High-level government officials, private contributors, and representatives from international financial institutions are among the 250 persons that the event. Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said Islamabad was willing to pay around half the bill but was looking to donors for the remaining sum. He added that through a variety of means we will mobilize international assistance. Working with our partners is something we look forward to.
A representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Sunday that a group would meet with Pakistan’s finance minister outside of the conference as Pakistan attempts to restart its bailout program. Pakistan only has enough foreign currency reserves to cover one month’s worth of imports because the IMF has yet to authorize the release of $1.1 billion. It was originally scheduled to be handed out in November last year.
