ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Chairperson Sherry Rehman on Thursday described recent cuts in climate-related budget allocations as “shocking”, warning that Pakistan is entering a period of increased environmental vulnerability driven by intensifying climate extremes.
While presiding over a committee meeting, Rehman said the country is already experiencing severe heatwaves, rapid glacier melting, erratic rainfall patterns, growing water shortages, and worsening environmental conditions in urban centres.
She emphasised that preparations for the upcoming monsoon season must remain a top national priority and called for stronger coordination among institutions to effectively respond to what she termed a growing “climate polycrisis”.
The committee also expressed concern over declining financial commitments to climate initiatives. Members were informed that the Climate Ministry’s Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation had been reduced to Rs2.478 billion from Rs3.5 billion in the previous fiscal year.
“Climate risks are increasing, not decreasing, yet allocations continue to shrink,” Rehman remarked, while also highlighting the ministry’s limited capacity to fully utilise funds already allocated to it.
The senator further questioned the justification for creating parallel institutions such as the proposed Climate Authority. She asked what additional functions the authority would perform beyond those already handled by the ministry and cautioned against bureaucratic duplication that could place further strain on public finances.
Referring to official data, Rehman noted that losses incurred by state-owned enterprises reached Rs832.848 billion during fiscal year 2025, while cumulative losses had surpassed Rs6.5 trillion. She added that the current federal budget had allocated another Rs451 billion to these entities.
The committee also reviewed preparedness measures for the forthcoming monsoon season through briefings from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
NDMA Chairman Inam Haider Malik informed lawmakers that weather patterns during 2026-27 are expected to be influenced by the El Niño phenomenon, which could intensify extreme weather events across the region.
Malik said global temperatures in June 2026 were approximately 1.47 degrees Celsius above historical averages, while temperatures in Pakistan were around 1.56 degrees Celsius above baseline levels. He warned that climate thresholds previously expected later in the decade are being reached much earlier than anticipated.
During the discussion, Rehman also raised concerns about the long-term impact of glacier loss on the country’s water security, questioning how future reservoir supplies would be maintained as glacial reserves continue to diminish.