ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Adaptation Plan is severely hampered by “inadequate” international climate finance, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday, as Islamabad seeks easier access to climate funds for vulnerable nations. 

Sharif was speaking at the Climate Summit held at the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The summit is a targeted high-level event where heads of state, government leaders, businesses and civil society members present concrete pledges and national climate plans.

Pakistan, which contributes less than 1 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, suffers frequently from climate-related disasters. The South Asian country has reported over 1,000 deaths since the onset of the monsoon season in June due to rain-related incidents such as floods and landslides. 

Pakistani officials have frequently said developing countries face mounting climate threats, despite minimal emissions, and need more support from global financial institutions.

“The implementation of Pakistan’s National Adaptation Plan is hampered and hampered severely due to inadequate international climate finance,” Sharif said during his address. 

The Pakistani prime minister said Islamabad aimed to increase its share of renewable energy through hydropower to 62 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2035. He said the South Asian country also aimed to expand its nuclear energy capacity by 1,200 megawatts by 2030 and establish 3,000 charging stations for electronic vehicles by then.

Sharing details of Pakistan’s climate adaptation measures, the Pakistani prime minister said the use of solar energy in the country has grown seven-fold since 2021, adding that 23,000 hectares of mangroves have also been restored. 

Sharif said Pakistan was willing to do its part to battle climate crisis, expressing the hope that the international community would also fulfill its commitments. 

“My last line is, loans over loans, adding to loans, is not the solution,” he concluded. 

Cataclysmic floods triggered by unusually heavy rains and the melting of glaciers in 2022 killed over 1,700 people, destroyed critical infrastructure and large swathes of crops. It inflicted damages of over $30 billion, Pakistan estimates. 

Experts linked the crisis to climate change, warning that Pakistan could suffer even more devastating effects in the years to come.