Pakistan and The Caribbean, Sister Countries in Climate Struggle

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#Pakistan, September 2, 2022 – A third of Pakistan’s 796 square km of land is now submerged, as the UN pleads for 160 million dollars worth of aid for the country in its “monsoon season on steroids”.  Its climate minister is calling on the countries responsible for the brunt of climate change to do their part.

Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman spoke to AFP news on Monday, calling the flooding a ‘crisis of unimaginable proportions.  She held major greenhouse gas emitters around the world accountable for their part in the climate change crisis that is now destroying her country. She said it was time for them to step up and pay up, instead of just promising money that never materializes, echoing Mia Mottley’s powerful COP26 speech.

“To see the devastation on the ground is really mind-boggling – When we send in water pumps, they say ‘Where do we pump the water?  It’s all one big ocean, there’s no dry land to pump the water out.” she explained

Pakistan is responsible for a minuscule amount of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, and yet it is one of the countries listed on the Climate Risk Index as most vulnerable to climate change.

The country can do very little to stem the tide of emissions as other countries continue to pump earth destroying vapors into the air, yet it is one of the countries that suffers most.  Even if the country cut all of its gas emissions, the impact would be a drop in the bucket.  It is a frustrating place to be, and a position that Caribbean countries are all too familiar with.

The latest Climate Risk Index published in 2021 assessed Weather Related Loss Events between 2000 and 2019.  The countries most heavily affected in 2019 were Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and the Bahamas.  For the entire period, Puerto Rico, Myanmar, and Haiti rank highest.

The Index also recognizes the far-reaching impacts of a single local catastrophe, be it a hurricane or flooding, especially in developing states.

”In many cases, single, exceptionally intense, extreme weather events have such a strong impact that the countries and territories concerned also have a high ranking in the long-term index.” the document explained.

Now Pakistan is likely to rank on the next index as farmland is destroyed, and the death toll rapidly climbs, pushed by landslides and flooding causing houses to collapse on top of families and swift currents cause many to drown.

The UN published a statement on Tuesday requesting the international community to ‘step up its support’, $160 million is required as a start to help just over 5 million of the worst affected as the rains continue.