"Loans over loans is not a solution," says PM Shehbaz Sharif at UN climate event

New York [US], September 25 (ANI): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday urged the international community to fulfil its commitments on climate finance, stressing that debt-driven support could not address the catastrophe confronting vulnerable nations like Pakistan, Dawn reported.

Speaking at the Special Climate Event convened by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, along with the president of Brazil, the host of COP30, Sharif said, "Loans over loans, [and] adding to loans is not a solution." He called on developed countries to honour their pledges for the sake of future generations.

According to Dawn, the prime minister reminded delegates that Pakistan was still reeling from the devastation of the 2022 floods, which inflicted losses exceeding $30 billion, displaced millions and left behind lasting scars. He noted that this year's monsoon season had already "impacted more than five million people, destroyed 4,100 villages, and claimed over 1,000 precious lives."

Highlighting Pakistan's negligible role in global emissions, he said, "Despite a negligible contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, we bear impacts far beyond our share." The premier reaffirmed Islamabad's "steadfast and unwavering" commitment to its climate agenda.

Dawn reported that Sharif also outlined the country's progress on its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), recalling that in 2021 Pakistan had pledged an unconditional 15 per cent reduction in projected greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. "Renewables are presently providing over 32pc of Pakistan's power mix. Solar energy has grown sevenfold since 2021," he said, adding that 23,000 hectares of mangrove forests had been restored.

He announced that Pakistan would raise the share of renewables and hydropower to 62 per cent of the energy mix by 2035, expand nuclear capacity by 1,200 megawatts by 2030, shift 30 per cent of transport to clean mobility and set up 3,000 charging stations nationwide. Plans also include scaling up climate-smart agriculture, ensuring water security and planting one billion trees.

However, the premier regretted that the implementation of Pakistan's adaptation plan was "hampered, and hampered severely, due to inadequate international climate finance," Dawn noted.

In his remarks at the same event, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said it was still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century. "The bottom line: clean is competitive, and climate action is imperative," he stressed.

Guterres underlined the need for COP30 in Brazil to deliver a credible global response plan, including mobilising $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance by 2035. He called for effective debt relief and measures such as debt swaps and disaster pause clauses, noting that "developing countries that did least to cause the crisis are suffering most." (ANI)

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