Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
UKMTO says vessel reported a small craft colliding with it, attempting to collide with other vessels in the area
UKMTO says it received a report of an incident 80NM northwest of jebel Ali, UAE
Israeli Foreign Minister says 'Israel' fully endorses Trump plan for Gaza aid: Reuters
Iranian state media: The fourth round of nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington has kicked off in Oman
Senior Israeli intelligence official: Contacts are underway between Syria and "Israel" to retrieve the body of the spy Eli Cohen
Reuters: US and Chinese officials met again in Geneva to resume trade talks
Al Mayadeen's envoy: The process of uranium enrichment is the main obstacle in the talks
Al Mayadeen's envoy to Muscat, quoting a source in the delegation engaging in the nuclear talks: If we see that the other party deviates from the agreed-upon frameworks, we will not continue the talks
Al Mayadeen's envoy to Muscat, quoting a source in the delegation engaging in the nuclear talks: Iran is ready to reassure all parties that its nuclear program will remain peaceful
Araghchi: Iran's position on its right to a nuclear program is firm, but we are ready for greater transparency and hope that the other side's approach will be clear

Governance reform and Pakistan: does climate financing offer a chance?

  • Hannan Hussain Hannan Hussain
  • Source: Al Mayadeen English
  • 25 Dec 2022 00:28
6 Min Read

One of the financial constraints facing Pakistan is its structural dependency on international financial organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

  • x
  • Governance reform and Pakistan: does climate financing offer a chance?
    IMF conditions economic reform and stability on a set of measures that contrast sharply with the relief expectations of the common Pakistani

For decades, Pakistan was offered the opportunity to evolve into a stable economic force in South Asia, but sustained external interference in its immediate neighborhood compelled priorities to remain out of sync. One of the chief impediments to this day is U.S. military overreach in Afghanistan, costing billions in life and blood to distance the masses from tangible governance reform.

But catastrophic floods, and their drastic humanitarian implications, present a unique case. On the one hand, this climate-induced challenge risks significantly straining Pakistan’s modest economy. At the same time, it puts the spotlight on Pakistan’s dire climate financing needs, which offers the new ruling coalition a chance to redirect international assistance towards service delivery reforms for long-term promise. In recent times, substantive climate diplomacy from Islamabad has led to a landmark global consensus on a “loss and damages” climate fund, chiefly for Pakistan. Add to it the persistent threat of more climate-induced catastrophes in the future, and Islamabad has a solid case to secure billions in climate reparations from the world’s top polluters. This creates an opportunity for good governance, because funds need to be transparently utilized, and the public will welcome any tangible post-flood reconstruction effort.

Recent events make it clear that there is no downplaying Islamabad’s adverse exposure to the climate-induced flood catastrophe. It is one that was fueled by the world’s most powerful countries and top polluters. Some 20 million flood victims are already in dire need of assistance, suggesting that every ruling coalition in Pakistan must be allowed to complete its full democratic term. This is important because good governance, even on funds allocation, has suffered in Pakistan due to political protests and interrupted rule. “The climate-induced crisis in Pakistan has long-term implications for recovery and resilience in a context defined by systemic deficits in climate financing ... while flash appeals just for the humanitarian gap by the United Nations have received only 30% of the $816 million”, said Climate Minister Sherry Rehman this week. The stakes are high for Pakistan, but so is the value of reform if climate priorities are set in order.

One of the financial constraints facing Pakistan is its structural dependency on international financial organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). IMF conditions economic reform and stability on a set of measures that contrast sharply with the relief expectations of the common Pakistani. Consider foreign demands to tighten government controls on energy pricing. These measures have added to public discontent, presupposed a “one-size-fits-all” global reform approach to Pakistan, and left the government with little options to cater to scores of flood victims under open skies. Despite an escalating war between Ukraine and Russia that has stymied economic recovery in the developing world, organizations such as the IMF continue to project an artificial sense of economic stability in climate-vulnerable countries. Pakistan deserves to be taken out of a seemingly endless cycle of loans.  

Future climate financing can be an effective counter. First, it can lessen some of those external loan dependencies, and instead, concentrate governance autonomy in the coalition that represents popular will. Early optimism reflects in Islamabad’s framing of the floods as a matter of climate justice, and not a favor from the wealthiest polluters. That grammar (in ample display at the UN Climate Conference) allows it to press developed nations to commit to a formal institutional arrangement that is suited to the most vulnerable economies. Second, since billions in climate financing are difficult to attract, there will be added pressure on Pakistan’s governing elite to put the funds into post-reconstruction efforts with minimum delay in sight. 

This sense of urgency has been short-lived in Pakistan of late. Successive political administrations have been compelled to leverage international financial organizations (IFOs) for counterproductive structural relief, adding to a soaring debt burden but barely reducing it. It is here that a simple reality check can put flood-hit Pakistan on the path to course correction: that international loans undermine, rather than promote, Islamabad’s mandate to govern autonomously. 

The latter requires a fundamental redirection of climate funds to Pakistan’s high-return growth sectors. These include a budding technology industry and a fin-tech industry with strong integration potential overseas. As a result, sectors with greater financial accountability challenge the narrative that transparent fund utilization in Pakistan is virtually impossible. On the contrary, global donors can be better assured of government checks and balances on climate investment should such a path be taken. In the process of such people-centric climate investments, good governance will also benefit in Pakistan.

For now, there is a dual challenge at play for Pakistan: rebuilding lost healthcare infrastructure in the country’s South, and also accommodating millions of displaced populations in quick time. That creates an added incentive for Pakistan to sensitize top emitters to the gravity of its funding constraints, making it critical to tailor future climate assistance to either short-term or long-term rebuilding goals. Committing to one of the two should serve as a strong point in Pakistan’s climate financing narrative. This can be accomplished by extending recent activism with global climate partners, as witnessed during Islamabad’s chairmanship of the Group of 77 developing economies in Egypt. 

Taken together, a delicate balance between climate financing and governance mandates can translate into a recipe for good governance. The alternative is an undesirable one for Pakistan: it risks raising the stakes to improve livelihoods, puts pressure on dwindling foreign reserves, and threatens to put more distance between Islamabad and its progress on the UN Sustainable Development Agenda. 

The opinions mentioned in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Al mayadeen, but rather express the opinion of its writer exclusively.
  • Pakistani economy
  • Pakistan
  • IMF
Hannan Hussain

Hannan Hussain

Writer and author.

Most Read

All
Throughout Operation Prosperity Guardian, current and former US military and intelligence officials expressed disquiet at the enormous “cost offset” involved in battling Ansar Allah. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

Ansar Allah triumphant: US facing Red Sea defeat again

  • Opinion
  • 3 May 2025
"Israel" appears to be the only place in the world where there are actual demonstrations defending rapists as national heroes precisely because of their crimes. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

'Israeli pride' - Celebrating rape in the Zionist entity

  • Opinion
  • 4 May 2025
Why the Israelis cannot win in Gaza or Yemen

Why the Israelis cannot win in Gaza or Yemen

  • Opinion
  • 7 May 2025
The hero who overthrows tyranny: The path of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam

The hero who overthrows tyranny: The path of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam

  • Blog
  • 2 May 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

More from this writer

All
Israeli manpower shortages offer a firm reckoning of its Gaza genocide

Israeli manpower shortages offer a firm reckoning of Gaza genocide

Why Trump’s Panama Canal threats don’t add up.

Why Trump’s Panama Canal threats don’t add up.

Taking provocations head-on

Taking provocations head-on

Plenty suggests Netanyahu’s troubles can only increase. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Mahdi Rtail)

As Netanyahu prolongs 'Israel’s' genocide, reservists further weaken his standing

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS