Climate change has been a cause of concern for policymakers and economists as the phenomenon is responsible for many natural disasters like drought and famines. A new study conducted by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and The World Bank (WB) has estimated the economic cost of climate change to Pakistan. Estimates by these two lending agencies claim that Pakistan faces a loss of $3.8 billion annually due to climate change.
Globally, Pakistan is the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change, even though it only contributes 0.8% to global pollution levels. With an increase of 2.5 degrees Celsius to the average temperature level of the country, the country needs to bring its average temperature increase to the 1.5 degrees Celsius target.
The study titled “Climate Risk Country profile” has placed Pakistan among the top risk-prone countries in terms of an increase in average temperatures and the resultant financial losses. With respect to facing disasters, Pakistan faces some of the highest disaster risk levels in the world as it is ranked 18 out of 191 countries by the Inform Risk Index.
The government and other state institutions should try to devise an economic development strategy that is more climate-resilient.
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