Pakistan’s reductions in climate-related spending have drawn concern from lawmakers and environmental experts, who warn that the country is cutting critical investment at a time when climate risks are becoming more severe.

During a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, committee chairperson Senator Sherry Rehman described the reductions as alarming and warned that Pakistan was entering a period of heightened environmental vulnerability.

Climate Risks Are Growing Faster

The warning comes as Pakistan continues to experience more intense heat, unpredictable rainfall, flooding, drought and pressure on water and agricultural systems.

According to figures presented to the Senate committee, Pakistan’s temperatures were already around 1.56°C above the cited baseline, while climate thresholds previously expected later in the decade were reportedly being crossed earlier.

The Pakistan Economic Survey 2025–26 also reported that 2025 was the country’s second-warmest year in 65 years, following the warmest year on record in 2024. Northern regions, including Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, recorded some of their highest annual temperatures in decades.

Adaptation Requires Long-Term Investment

Climate adaptation refers to the measures countries take to reduce harm from environmental changes that can no longer be avoided.

For Pakistan, this includes investment in:

  • Flood protection and urban drainage
  • Heatwave preparedness
  • Water conservation and groundwater recharge
  • Climate-resilient agriculture
  • Glacier and river monitoring
  • Forest and ecosystem restoration
  • Early-warning and disaster-response systems

Reductions in climate spending could slow these efforts and increase the financial cost of future disasters.

Climate resilience cannot be built through emergency responses alone. It requires steady investment before disasters occur.

Some Environmental Projects Still Receive Funding

The federal development programme has allocated approximately Rs2.478 billion to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination for 2026–27.

Most of this funding—around Rs2.335 billion—has been directed toward the expansion of the Green Pakistan Programme, which focuses on afforestation, biodiversity conservation, carbon storage and restoration of degraded ecosystems.

However, analysts have questioned whether the wider federal budget gives sufficient priority to climate adaptation, environmental governance and the protection of vulnerable communities. A Dawn assessment argued that certain spending decisions appear inconsistent with Pakistan’s stated climate commitments.

The Cost of Delayed Action

Pakistan contributes a relatively small share of global greenhouse-gas emissions but remains highly exposed to climate-related disasters.

Floods, prolonged heat, crop losses, water shortages and damaged infrastructure can place enormous pressure on public finances. When adaptation is underfunded, governments may later be forced to spend much larger amounts on emergency relief and reconstruction.

The debate over climate allocations is therefore not only about environmental policy. It is also about economic stability, public health, food security and national development.

The central question is whether Pakistan’s current spending is sufficient to prepare the country for climate threats that are already unfolding.