COP26: UK Pledges Over £55 Million to Help Pakistan Fight Climate Change

The United Kingdom has announced more than £55 million worth of support to help Pakistan tackle climate change as part of the COP26 Global Climate Change Summit this week.

As global leaders come together for the COP26, this is a critical time for Pakistan which has been ranked the eighth most vulnerable country to climate change.

The rising temperatures mean that 36 percent of the glaciers along the Hindu Kush and Himalayan ranges will be gone by 2100.

The UK has already achieved notable successes. Ninety percent of the world’s economy is now covered by net-zero targets, up from less than 30 percent when the UK took on the Presidency of the COP26. This will help the most vulnerable countries like Pakistan cope with climate change.

The new funding for climate change in Pakistan is split into three parts:

• A five-year climate resilience program worth £38 million will help Pakistan’s poorest communities to protect themselves from the changing climate.
• A five-year water governance program worth £15 million will make Pakistan’s use of water more sustainable, and water access fairer.
• An additional £2.5 million to support new ways of attracting much-needed climate investment to Pakistan, including the development of a Nature Performance Bond on World Environment Day in June, with the commitment of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the UK.

The British High Commissioner, Dr. Christian Turner CMG, was scheduled to announce the urgently-needed new programs at a high-level reception for climate change stakeholders at the British High Commission in Islamabad today (Thursday, 4 November).

He said,

For Pakistan, climate change could be catastrophic. That is why we are working together on trees and finance, and mobilizing leading Pakistani businesses. This £55 million new funding will ensure Pakistan becomes more resilient to climate impacts, with more sustainable water use and greater access to climate finance, so improving lives and livelihoods.

Under the COP26, the UK has been working with Pakistan in the following areas:

• A #26For26 campaign to have 26 Pakistani companies commit to halving emissions by 2030 and getting to net-zero by 2050. Twenty-nine companies have signed up for it so far.
• Pakistan successfully joining more than 100 countries to pledge to end and reverse deforestation by 2030.

The UK had been working closely with Pakistan on climate change even before the COP26 and will provide £7 million this year to help the country achieve its climate change objectives. It had also launched a new program in Lahore earlier this year to promote cleaner brick production practices that will help to improve air quality, reduce smog, and fight climate change.