UN Climate Change Conference 2018 on Climate Finance

The ministerial discussion on climate finance at the UN Climate Change Conference 2018 (COP24) being held in Katowice, Poland. As ministers from almost 200 UN countries begin negotiations on global climate finance.

UN Climate Change Conference 2018 on Climate Finance

Pakistan’s Advisor on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam told that Pakistan remains at frontline of climate risks as it has not grant significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions.

Pakistan’s reworked copy related climate expenditures amount to 6 to 8 percent of our annual GDP, we are without uncertainty bearing more than our due share on climate adaptation.

Pakistan has promised the world through its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) document submitted under the Paris Agreement, to slash emissions by 20 percent below business as usual by 2030 – conditional to the availability of global climate finance.

In Aslam’s view, the rich countries promise of US$100 billion of “new and additional” finance to help developing countries tackle climate change remains a pipe dream.

However, that Pakistan is going ahead in its resolve to combat climate change, with a greener growth model envisioned and has spent $120 million on the massive Billion Tree Tsunami project alone.

The DG Ministry of Climate Change, Irfan Tariq spoke at the side event on the “Belt and Road Green Development Partnership” which is looking at greening the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Under Phase one of CPEC which conceives power generation, the coal power plants being established in Pakistan will use more well-organized super critical technology and provide real time data on their emissions.

However, a new report released by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis on “Pakistan’s Power Future” notes that renewable energy including wind and solar is now the cheapest form of new electricity generation in Pakistan.

Pakistan is currently on an energy pathway towards over-reliance on imported fossil fuels, out-dated coal technology, and expensive, seasonal and delayed hydropower. Pakistan has productively altered political commitment into action, and has become a driver for mobilizing domestic climate finance.