ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change Dr. Musadik Malik on Saturday called for an “equitable, accessible” climate finance for vulnerable nations, saying that climate action must be treated as a shared global responsibility.

Malik was speaking at a high-level conference titled: “The Bottom Line: Why Tackling Environmental Degradation Is Critical to the Future of the Global Financial System” held on the sidelines of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi.

Pakistan has suffered repeated climate-inducted disasters frequently over the years. Devastating floods this year claimed over 1,000 lives in the country during the monsoon season. Super floods in 2022 cost the country an estimated $30 billion in damages.

“Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr. Musadik Malik has stressed that environmental degradation poses systemic risks to the global financial system and called for more accessible and equitable climate finance for vulnerable countries,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

Participants highlighted the importance of policy coherence, effective regulatory frameworks and whole-of-government approaches to create enabling conditions for sustainable finance.