Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif has said Pakistan should not be forced to beg for help from rich polluting nations after the floods that have devastated the country, adding he will be seeking “climate justice” from the international community.
In an interview published in The Guardian on Thursday, Sharif warned that Pakistan is facing an unprecedented crisis of health, food security and internal displacement after the “apocalyptic” monsoons which put a third of the country under water.
While the international community has given billions in funds and donations and commitments for further support, PM told the Guardian it was “not enough”.
“The enormity of this climate-induced catastrophe is beyond our fiscal means,” he said. “The gap between our needs and what is available is too wide and it is widening by the day.”
“Scientists have determined that the floods were due to climate breakdown. But with Pakistan responsible for 0.8% of global carbon emissions,” PM said “It was the responsibility of the developed countries, who caused these emissions, to stand by us.”
PM further said he had never seen this kind of devastation, and suffering of people in his lifetime. “Millions have been displaced; they have become climate refugees within their own country.” he added.
1,600 people have officially died as a result of the floods, although many local estimates have been higher. Millions of families have been forced to live in temporary tents or shelters on the sides of roadways, and more than 2 million homes have been demolished.
The damage is estimated to be between $30 billion and $35 billion, but PM Sharif said it was “just a rough estimate, it could be more.” More than 30,000 kilometers of roads, as well as bridges, railways, and power lines, were destroyed. In addition, 4 million hectares (10 million acres) of crops were washed away.
“Let me be clear, this is about climate justice,” said PM Sharif. “We are not blaming anybody, we’re not casting allegations, and what we are saying is this is not of our making, but we have become a victim. Should I be asked to cast my appeal into a begging bowl? That is double jeopardy. That’s unjust, unfair.”
PM further said that even with the billions in upcoming foreign debt repayments, and the billions more now in flood damages, the country had averted default though the IMF deal, and would still be able to service the rest of its foreign debt payments, which total around $22bn for the next year. “No way. We will not default,” he said.
PM confirmed he would be talking to “everybody” – including China and the Paris Club – about the possibility of foreign debt moratorium. “What we are asking for is fiscal space but not through the burden of more debt,” he said.
