The world’s richest countries have agreed to give $100 billion to countries affected by climate change. The pledge was made during the ongoing climate change conference in Paris, France.
Pakistan is one of the countries most affected by climate change and has suffered $30 billion in losses in last year’s floods. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also attended the Paris conference.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at the closing part of the conference, said that rich countries have agreed to give $100 billion, while a fund will also be set up for biodiversity and forest protection.
Leaders from 40 countries attended the Paris conference, aimed at helping low-income countries reduce their debt burden, carry out economic reforms and spend the resulting money on tackling climate change.
In November 2022, at the Global Conference on Climate Change COP27, it was agreed to set up a fund called Loss and Damage, but developed countries pledged only $300 million.
Developing countries could need between $160 billion and $340 billion annually to tackle climate change, according to a UN report. With this money, they will be able to start other projects, including the construction of walls, to prevent the sea from moving forward.
However, if the pace of climate change increases, this amount can reach $ 500 billion.
This week, the World Bank and the IMF also said they would ease funding to countries affected by climate change.
On the sidelines of the conference, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a statement on Twitter in which he said that he has been drawing the attention of world leaders to the external shocks that have caused many problems in countries like Pakistan. Due to these problems in Pakistan, development stopped and the prices of goods increased, back-breaking inflation and then due to the worst weather conditions, Pakistan lost $ 30 billion in floods.
In his tweet, Shahbaz Sharif called upon the international community to fulfill the promises made on the occasion of climate conference COP27. The Loss and Damage Fund should be activated and grants should be given on an equal basis, the debt of developing countries should not be increased, countries suffering from climate change should be given access to funds.
The Prime Minister said that as an initial step, the global financial structure should be reviewed.
