Pakistan launches Climate Change Financing Framework to mainstream climate change into planning and budget systems
Pakistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) unveiled a ‘Climate Change Financing Framework’ (CCFF) on Monday to combat climate change.
This landmark initiative will make Pakistan’s existing climate change policy more effective, prove its future climate action and help access global climate funds. It will create a robust monitoring system that can gauge the adequacy and effectiveness of financing.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Climate Change, Mushahidullah Khan said that the CCFF is a milestone in bringing climate change to the mainstream planning and finance system.
“There is more need to create awareness on climate change issue since we are living under glaciers and have serious threats. The desertification is increasing in Pakistan whereas our contribution in carbon emission is only 0.08 per cent and among the top ten countries most affected by climate change,” he said.
Pakistan is the fourth country after Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh to adopt the comprehensive climate change financing approach.
Two reports were launched to improve Pakistan’s climate finance mechanism. The first, known as a Climate Change Financing Framework (CCFF), outlines a reform agenda constituting new policies and processes to better align climate finance to existing climate policy objectives in Pakistan. The CCFF links policy and budgeting to increase the transparency of allocations while improving the effectiveness of existing public finance.
The second report called Climate Public Expenditure and Institutional Review (CPEIR) 2017 provides an overview of the landscape of current climate policy and budget spending in the country, with a view to improve future climate action.
Pakistan ranks seventh among the most affected countries by climate change according to the Global Climate Risk Index 2017.
“Pakistan is among the top ten countries globally affected by climate change and has experienced these effects dramatically over recent years through devastating floods and catastrophic heat waves. For Pakistan to respond to these challenges a comprehensive approach is needed as part of planning and budgeting,” said Neil Buhne, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative.
“While climate finance and assistance is increasing, it is still inadequate for the needs. Therefore, all available resources must be used more effectively if countries are to minimize the effects of climate change.”
“CCFFs have also been developed, with UNDP support and assistance from the United Kingdom and Sweden, in Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh. This helps each of these countries to budget and plan better to adopt to climate change, as the CCCF here will help Pakistan to do this,” he added
The overall results found that Pakistan’s climate expenditure compares well with other countries with the four provinces and the Federal Government spending a national average of around 8 percent of total expenditures on activities related to climate change.
“This is a considerable achievement as Pakistan is one of very few countries that have undertaken CPEIRs that comprehensively cover all provinces as well as the federal level. I congratulate the Government of Pakistan in successfully completing this important exercise and in institutionalizing the expenditure tracking system that will prove an important tool in adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change,” Mr. Buhne noted.