Pakistan Urges Grant-Based Climate Aid at COP31

Overview

• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told COP31 delegates in Antalya on Thursday that Pakistan wants international climate support delivered as grants rather than loans to boost resilience and adaptation.
• A WIN Worldviews Survey reported that 67% of Pakistanis think it is already too late to curb climate change and women were slightly more pessimistic than men.
• Economists and the State Bank of Pakistan governor said climate finance must fund local risk forecasting, early warnings and recovery for smallholder farmers and low-income households who lack insurance and savings.
• Sharif used COP31 for bilateral talks, including discussions with Finland on flood-forecasting systems, but analysts warned that donor governments’ fiscal and geopolitical pressures make large, predictable grant commitments uncertain.
• Pakistan’s demand rests on recent losses from extreme weather, including floods in 2022 that caused more than $30 billion in damage, and officials say domestic reforms on land use, water management and methane reduction must accompany new finance.