Pakistan demands climate finance at COP31 as floods and melting glaciers threaten millions
Pakistan is pushing for urgent global action and greater climate funding as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attends COP31 in Türkiye, warning th...
Pakistan is pushing for urgent global action and greater climate funding as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attends COP31 in Türkiye, warning that melting glaciers, devastating floods and extreme heat are putting millions of lives and livelihoods at risk.
Sharif arrived in Antalya on Tuesday, 10 November, ahead of his address to the COP31 Leaders' Summit on Wednesday. He is also due to speak at a high-level dialogue on the clean energy transition and electrification, titled “35 by 35: Powering the Future”.
Pakistan is demanding greater international cooperation, reliable climate funding and access to technology, arguing that developing countries responsible for relatively few emissions are bearing a disproportionate share of the climate crisis.
Pakistan's rapidly changing mountain ecosystems are among its most urgent climate concerns.
Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik has warned that accelerating glacier melt and glacial lake outburst floods threaten communities, homes and livelihoods.
Speaking at the UN Climate Change Pavilion, he called for closer international scientific cooperation to strengthen glacier monitoring and research into mountain ecosystems.
Pakistan accounts for less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the minister, yet remains one of the countries hardest hit by climate change.
The devastating 2025 monsoon floods exposed the scale of Pakistan's vulnerability, causing an estimated 822 billion Pakistani rupees in economic damage, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025–26.
More than 1,000 people were killed, over four million were displaced and approximately 6.5 million were affected across 70 districts.
Agriculture and infrastructure suffered some of the heaviest losses, deepening concerns about food security, rural livelihoods and the country's economic recovery.
Beyond flooding, Pakistan is grappling with extreme temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns and mounting pressure on its water supplies.
Pakistan's third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0), submitted in September 2025, aims to cut projected greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2035, compared with a business-as-usual scenario.
The plan commits to a 17 per cent reduction without external assistance, while a further 33 per cent depends on international support.
Meeting these targets will require an estimated $565.7 billion in investment by 2035, covering climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, renewable energy and other measures.
In a separate move at COP31, Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan endorsed the Global Green Freight Corridors Initiative, which promotes cleaner transport technologies, digital connectivity and more efficient route planning to cut emissions from international freight.
For Pakistan, the challenge now is to turn climate pledges into meaningful protection for millions of people facing worsening floods, glacier-related disasters and extreme heat.
With the country seeking greater financial and scientific support, the pressure is mounting to translate international commitments into action before the next disaster strikes.
Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for their first formal talks in nine months. They did so with no agreement on what a ceasefire would be tied to or who gets to keep the land currently under Russian control.
At least 17 people have been reported killed in an explosion at a steel plant in western Türkiye, after a crane collapsed during maintenance work. The disaster has prompted a criminal investigation into what went wrong at the industrial facility.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said Washington believes the Russian President is prepared to reach a peace agreement under the right conditions, as U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations began trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 10 November.
Armenia could lose its voting rights within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on 11 November after failing to pay membership fees for more than two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 11 November. Today, we cover Russia-Ukraine peace talks, political tensions in Washington, strikes in Spain, espionage allegations involving Nvidia's CEO, and climate negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye.
Armenia has lost its voting rights and the ability to nominate officials for certain posts within the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). The decision was taken at a summit in Moscow on 11 November, amid years of strained relations between Yerevan and the alliance.
Heavy rain and strong winds have flooded around 70,000 tents across Gaza, leaving displaced Palestinian families exposed to cold, hunger and worsening living conditions as winter approaches, according to local authorities.
Trade along the Middle Corridor is accelerating, opening new opportunities for Central Asia and the South Caucasus as countries strengthen transport links between China and Europe. Cargo volumes reached around 4.7 million tonnes in 2025, up from less than one million tonnes in 2021.
Kazakhstan says the North Aral Sea’s water volume has risen by 24 per cent since 2022, reaching 23.4 billion cubic metres. The figures were unveiled at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, as the country outlined ambitious plans to accelerate restoration.
Israel’s newly elected parliament was sworn in on Tuesday amid political deadlock, with President Isaac Herzog urging lawmakers to avoid another election as Gadi Eisenkot struggles to form a government.
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