Comment Writer Zainab Hussain investigates a recent climate disaster and what it tells us about the fight against climate change
Catastrophic floods in Pakistan this summer have, so far, left over 1600 people dead, at least 15,000 injured, and a third of the country underwater. 33 million people have been affected, many of whom have been made homeless; over 500,000 people are living in relief camps.
33 million people have been affected
Evidence points to the climate crisis as the likely culprit behind such devastation; Pakistan has seen three times more rainfall than usual this year, which has lasted for twice as long as normal. This comes months after record temperatures – reaching 49 degrees – sped up the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas, and baked the ground hard, making it less efficient at absorbing floodwater.
The damage from the floods will cost Pakistan an excess of $10 billion. The country’s minister of planning and development made sure to stress the role of climate change in the flooding and requested that the countries contributing to the climate crisis take responsibility for their actions, stressing that it is not his country that has caused such devastation.
He is not alone in his request; there are countless people in countries across Asia, Africa and the Pacific who echo his sentiments. African nations are having to spend billions to cope with extreme weather caused by the climate crisis and have been requesting funds to help them; an ask that is being repeated again this year, ahead of COP27. It’s a fair request, given that the wealthiest 10% of countries are responsible for half the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. By contrast, the 52 lowest income countries emit less than two percent of global emissions (Pakistan emits less than one percent). And yet, much of the funds promised by rich nations are given as loans, not grants, meaning countries are putting themselves into debt to tackle a problem that has been caused by others, further widening already vast global inequalities.
African nations are having to spend billions to cope with extreme weather
Last year’s COP26 ended with a commitment by richer nations to provide $40 billion a year in funds for low and middle income countries (LMICs). Looking at the cost of flooding to Pakistan alone this year, it’s easy to see that the amount pledged is not close to sufficient to protect all LMICs from the impacts of climate change.
There are entire countries expected to disappear within a century, due to rising sea levels. Tuvalu, a small island nation is one, and its leaders are desperately trying to find ways to exist as a state, even after it has been completely submerged in the ocean. The future of its people is uncertain, with such strong attachment to their land, many will not accept emigrating elsewhere. Tuvalu, just like other LMICs, has made negligible contributions to the climate crisis, yet is paying the ultimate price.
There are entire countries expected to disappear within a century
Rising sea levels and floods, along with extreme temperatures, droughts and other products of the climate crisis, are exacerbating existing issues facing LMICs, such as higher incidence of communicable diseases, undernutrition and poor infrastructure. One study estimates that ten percent of global deaths, about five million excess deaths a year, are now caused by the climate crisis, mostly in LMICs. Global inequalities are already unacceptably vast; those living in richer countries can expect to live an average of 18 years longer than those living in poorer countries. The climate crisis is only set to widen the gap between the rich and poor.
LMICs are paying again and again for a crime they not only did not commit, but for which they are the victims. They pay in terms of loss of life, increased disease, hits to the economy, infrastructure, healthcare and education. Without adequate funds from the nations responsible for the majority of the crisis, LMICs are forced to spend money they don’t have to make themselves more climate resistant, and are still unable to shield themselves from the consequences.
Global solutions are needed, and it is up to the wealthier nations to step up and take proportional action. It is getting harder to turn a blind eye to the atrocities that the climate crisis is causing. Year on year, it is getting exponentially worse, and has started to quite literally hit home. Record temperatures this summer alone caused a 7% rise in the number of deaths per day in the UK.
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