Loans not the answer: Shehbaz urges world to honour climate pledges

United Nations: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called on the international community to honour its commitments on climate finance, warning that debt-driven loans cannot address the climate catastrophe facing vulnerable nations like Pakistan.

“Loans over loans, adding to loans is not a solution,” the prime minister said at a Special Climate Event convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the President of Brazil, host of COP30, for member states to present new climate targets for 2035.

Sharif said Pakistan was determined to be part of the solution but urged the world to act for the sake of future generations. He reminded delegates that Pakistan was still reeling from the 2022 floods, which caused losses exceeding $30 billion and displaced millions.

“This year, intense monsoon rains, cloudbursts, flash floods and devastating urban flooding have impacted more than five million people, destroyed 4,100 villages, and claimed over 1,000 lives,” he added.

Highlighting Pakistan’s negligible contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, the prime minister said the country bore impacts far beyond its share.

“In our 2021 nationally determined contribution, Pakistan committed to an unconditional 15% reduction in projected emissions by 2030 — and we have delivered on that pledge,” he noted. Renewables now provide 32% of Pakistan’s power mix, and solar energy generation has grown sevenfold since 2021.

Sharif pointed out that 23,000 hectares of mangroves had been restored but stressed that Pakistan’s national adaptation plan was severely hampered by inadequate international climate finance.

Outlining future goals, he pledged to raise the share of renewables and hydropower to 62% of the energy mix by 2035, expand nuclear capacity by 1,200 MW by 2030, shift 30% of transport to clean mobility, and establish 3,000 charging stations. He also vowed to scale up climate-smart agriculture, safeguard water security and advance the plantation of one billion trees.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the gathering it was still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. He said clean energy was creating jobs, growth and sustainable development, while insulating economies from volatile fossil fuel markets.

“Clean is competitive, and climate action is imperative,” he said, urging countries to present ambitious plans for 2035. He stressed that COP30 in Brazil must conclude with a credible global response plan, including a pathway to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance by 2035, as agreed at COP29 in Baku.

“The developing countries that did least to cause the crisis are suffering most,” Guterres said, calling for effective debt relief, debt swaps and disaster pause clauses to support vulnerable economies.