ISLAMABAD:
Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environment Coordination Senator Sherry Rehman on Thursday called continued cuts in climate allocations “shocking” and warned that Pakistan was entering a period of heightened climate vulnerability marked by intensifying heat waves, accelerated glacier melt, erratic rainfall, worsening urban environmental stress and growing urban water insecurity.
Chairing a meeting of the committee, Rehman expressed concern over the declining allocation of the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) to the climate ministry, which stands at 2.478 billion.
“Climate risks are increasing, not decreasing. Yet funding continues to shrink while implementation challenges persist,” she said, noting that the ministry had struggled to fully utilize previously allocated funds. The senator questioned the rationale behind the creation of the Climate Change Authority, arguing that climate governance required stronger coordination rather than additional bureaucratic structures.
“What is the function of this authority and what does it do that the climate ministry cannot reach?” she asked, describing it as another state-owned entity (SOE) without clearly defined goals.
Citing government figures, she noted that losses incurred by state-owned enterprises reached Rs832.8 billion. in FY2025, while cumulative losses had risen to Rs6.56 trillion. She added that Rs451 billion. had again been allocated to state-owned enterprises in the current budget.
The committee also reviewed Pakistan’s preparedness for the upcoming monsoon season with detailed briefings from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
NDMA Chairman Inam Haider Malik informed the lawmakers that the 2026-27 period was expected to be affected by El Niño conditions, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events and greater climate variability across the region.
