Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is attending the 29th United Nations climate conference, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Tuesday.
He will participate in the two-day ‘World Leaders Climate Action Summit,’ addressing the summit on Wednesday.
Pakistan, ranked among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable countries according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, has been increasingly impacted by extreme weather events, including unprecedented floods, intense monsoon rains, severe heat waves, rapid glacial melting, and glacial lake outburst floods.
Upon his arrival at the summit, PM Shehbaz was warmly greeted by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The first day of the summit will feature addresses from several heads of state, including UK PM Keir Starmer, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
On Wednesday, alongside PM Shehbaz, Bangladesh’s leader Muhammad Yunus and Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin are expected to speak at the high-level meeting.
PM Shehbaz will highlight the climate challenges faced by developing nations. According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan plans to push for “balanced and ambitious progress” on key issues such as loss and damage, adaptation, mitigation, and implementation, while seeking predictable climate financing for developing countries. Pakistan will also emphasize the historical responsibility of developed nations and urge deeper emissions cuts.
PM Shehbaz will host the Pakistan-organized Climate Finance Round Table Conference, bringing together global leaders to discuss the difficulties faced by developing countries, which contribute minimally to emissions but bear the brunt of climate change impacts.
Additionally, PM Shehbaz will participate in a high-level event, ‘Glaciers 2025: Actions for Glaciers,’ organized by Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, focusing on glacier protection. He is also scheduled to meet with the prime ministers of Denmark and the Czech Republic.
Pakistan experienced catastrophic floods during the 2022 monsoon season, worsened by climate change, which led to the loss of over 1,700 lives. With 33 million people affected and vast agricultural land destroyed, the damage was estimated at $30 billion. In June 2024, a heatwave exacerbated public health and agricultural challenges, bringing record-high temperatures.
