SHARM EL-SHEIKH: On Monday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasised the need of tackling climate change issues as a group.
The prime minister discussed the disastrous, climate-related floods in Pakistan while speaking at a joint news conference in Sharm Al Sheikh, Egypt, flanked by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
PM Shehbaz acknowledged the UN’s urgent requests but noted that there was still more work to be done in providing shelter and food for millions of people.
“Millions of Pakistanis are not receiving their fundamental right to a home or a means of support as they enter the winter. We still need to defend the needs of women and children “The premier continued by expressing Pakistan’s gratitude to the UN organisations and its development partners for helping the nation get through the extraordinary catastrophe.
Premier described the climate destruction in Pakistan as “massive,” which has exacerbated issues caused by floods such stagnant water and waterborne illnesses.
The rising public debt, rising energy prices, and a lack of actual access to adaptation funding, according to PM Shehbaz, will all hinder the nation’s efforts to recover.
“Each impacted family will receive $113 in urgent cash transfers from the government, totaling $316 million, to the vulnerable households. We have devoted every resource at our disposal to the national relief effort and reallocated all budget priorities, including development funding, to meet the immediate needs of millions of people “The gap, however, is far larger and needs to be addressed immediately, the prime minister continued.
Pakistan deserves a lot of assistance.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, also spoke on the occasion and said that Pakistan deserved unequivocal help from the international community for the reconstruction of the flood-affected areas.
Guterres stated that he hopes the climate implementation conference will be able to conclude that Pakistan’s loss and harm deserve to be taken into account as a reality and recognised through financial mechanisms.
The UN Secretary-General made an appeal to the G-20 and international financial institutions to establish conditions for mechanisms of debt relief for middle-income countries affected by natural disasters, saying that Pakistan “should have access to effective debt relief and the concessional funding to carry out the enormous task of reconstruction and rehabilitation.”
He continued by saying that Pakistan, a middle-income nation, had not reaped the benefits of debt reduction to the extent that the nation should have expected. In order to fund investments in rehabilitation, recovery, and reconstruction following a natural disaster, Guterres claimed that he has been putting forward proposals for debt swaps for nations like Pakistan.
The UN will stand shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan, the secretary-general declared in a statement of complete solidarity.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “UN is proud to be associated with Pakistan for the international donor conference in which we will try to obtain massive support from the international community for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the areas impacted by the tragic events.” Guterres expressed the hope that Pakistan would be able to profit from these developments.
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