A recent report predicted that the likelihood of particularly strong monsoons in the Indian subcontinent would increase sixfold by the end of the century
The dramatic floods in Pakistan have again brought into focus the thorny issue of providing aid from rich countries that emit the largest amount of greenhouse gases to poorer countries that are most affected by the effects of climate change.
“South Asia is one of the hot spots of the climate crisis. People living in these hot spots are 15 times more likely to die from the effects of climate change,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday, appealing for $160m to help the more than 5 million Pakistanis affected by the floods.
A recent report predicted that the likelihood of particularly strong monsoons in the Indian subcontinent would increase sixfold by the end of the century, even if emissions of the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change are reduced.
“This is not an accident. Science shows that the frequency and impact of these disasters will intensify and we need to prepare,” said Abel Munir, Pakistan’s ambassador to South Korea and acting chairman of the G77+ China, the core group of developing and poor countries negotiating the climate.
These countries, which contribute very little to climate change, are at the forefront of the effects and have been calling in vain for years for a special financial mechanism to be instituted to compensate them for the “damages and damages” they have already suffered.
A topic they want to put back on the agenda of COP27 which will take place in early November in Egypt.
Moral pressure
“We will maintain the moral pressure. But I think a lot of political and moral pressure should come from inside these countries as well,” Munir noted.
Pakistan is responsible for less than 0.5% of the greenhouse gases that have been released since the industrial revolution, explained Pristina Dahl, climate officer at the US-based non-governmental organization Union of Concerned Scientists.
The US, one of the countries that opposes the financial compensation mechanism for the poorest countries, is responsible for 25% of these gases.
The fear that it will open the way to legal appeals is at the basis of the rejection by developed countries of this mechanism. They consider that compensation for the effects of climate change can be included in a global mechanism.
But affected countries counter that pledges made by the wealthiest countries to invest in climate change—$100 billion a year—have not been met.
The issue was a source of great tension during the most recent COP in Glasgow, which resulted in the decision to create a framework for “dialogue” until 2024.
But in the face of increasing disasters, many countries want the process to be accelerated.
Financial disaster
Before the floods, Pakistan was hit by a heat wave in March, with temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius, which damaged crops and livestock. The heat also accelerated the melting of the country’s glaciers. This contributed to the increase in the volume of Pakistan’s rivers and worsened the floods.
These floods dealt another blow to Pakistan’s agriculture, submerging farmland and sweeping away 800,000 livestock, Munir pointed out. Add to that the damaged infrastructure—200 bridges and 3,500 kilometers of roads—and the country is facing economic and humanitarian disaster.
To support Pakistan, there is currently only the UN’s appeal for donations. At the same time, the country’s government estimates the amount of reconstruction costs at around 10 billion dollars.
“Post-disaster humanitarian aid can help, but developing countries will need to rely on long-term resources to deal with the ever-increasing impacts of climate change,” Dahl stressed.
“It’s clear: all of this is due to climate change,” Munir noted. “So the funding has to come from somewhere. And we know exactly where that somewhere is.”
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