Pakistan’s Climate Breakthrough

Pakistan is at the forefront of climate fragility, incurring severe losses from extreme weather events, climate induced disasters, and rising temperatures. The World Bank’s Country Climate and Development Report 2022 highlights this vulnerability, particularly evident in the devastating 2022 floods, which broke global monsoon rainfall records. These floods caused over 1700 fatalities, impacted 33 million people, threatened human well-being, food security, and led to economic losses amounting to approximately US $15.2 billion. Following this devastation, a post-disaster assessment of 17 sectors across 94 calamity-hit districts was conducted, identifying the most vulnerable sectors of the economy. Interventions were proposed, and strategies seeking to mitigate the impacts of climate change were emphasised in the form of a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for the country in 2023. 

 

The National Adaptation Plan (2023), prepared and managed by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC), emphasises collaboration and coordination among stakeholders, fostering inclusivity and serving as a blueprint for mobilising climate finance to enhance Pakistan’s resilience to climate change. Additionally, the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives (MoPD&SI) developed and notified complementary “Climate Risk Screening Guidelines for Policy Planning” stressing a shift away from conventional policy planning approaches which overlook climate change considerations. Instead, these guidelines underscore the need for integrating climate change and gender responsive indicators into every development project undertaken in the country to ensure a more sustainable future.

 

To further strengthen and harmonise the efforts of government ministries GIZ Pakistan’s “Supporting the Implementation of the National Adaptation Plan (NAP)” project was launched in August 2023, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

 

Catalysing momentum for the Government of Pakistan’s transformative climate mainstreaming approach, the NAP project conducted two groundbreaking inception workshops in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These two-day subnational workshops, held in September, previewed NAP’s work on incorporating climate resilience and gender sensitivity into the entire project planning cycle – encompassing project design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The workshops detailed NAP’s collaboration with United Nations University (UNU) and University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in developing climate-resilient sectoral guidelines and climate-proofing public infrastructure projects based on comprehensive risk, vulnerability, and hazard assessments.

 

The workshops introduced the Economics of Climate Adaptation (ECA) framework and CLIMADA modelling tools to government representatives, civil society, and academia. This was the first time these tools were introduced in Pakistan to facilitate the development of climate-resilient sectoral guidelines for four vulnerable sectors in each province. These sectors were prioritised by provincial actors and included agriculture, water, social protection, infrastructure, health and urban resilience.

 

The CLIMADA modelling tool’s ability to contextualise risks and hazards, provide flexibility in scale and scope, and utilise high-resolution data down to the local level sparked engaging discussions. Participants actively participated in group activities and deliberations, shaping the tool for climate risk assessments to align with provincial priorities.

 

The second day of the workshop explored climate proofing, focusing on climate-resilient design standards and disaster preparedness investments in infrastructure projects, complementing previous discussions on climate-resilience and adaptation. The University of Engineering and Technology (UET) presented the scope of their workplan covering the climate proofing of 20 public infrastructure projects qualifying through the Project Evaluation Framework (PEF). This framework, introduced to participants, is a holistic framework assessing project viability across technical, environmental, social, economic, and institutional factors, including sub-factors like climate adaptation effectiveness, economic opportunities, and SDG alignment. Additionally, it assigns weights to these factors, enabling comparative evaluations across sectors and locations, as well as cost-benefit analyses to guide targeted investments in high-scoring projects. The participants offered valuable feedback, suggesting adjustments such as sector-specific weightings and additional evaluation factors.

 

The NAP project integrates climate change and gender considerations into Pakistan’s planning processes, prioritising vulnerable sectors through early planning and design. The goal is to equip project officers with comprehensive expertise on climate resilience, adaptation, and gender responsiveness. This will enable them to apply a climate and gender lens in project development and mainstream these considerations into departmental planning. To establish the foundation for these goals, the workshops promoted stakeholder alignment, engaging relevant actors whose feedback will significantly shape sectoral guidelines and climate proofing frameworks. In the coming months, in-depth consultations are planned with government departments, civil society, and academia. Technical project staff will also receive training on the ECA framework, CLIMADA, and PEF to strengthen implementation, ensure sustainability, solidify institutional memory, and harmonise national and provincial climate policies and priorities.