ISLAMABAD: In order to address climate change and mobilise finance, experts have called for reforms in the public and private sectors to rake in much-needed funds required to address climate change, particularly adaptation.

On the first day of DawnMedia`s Breathe Pakistan International Climate Change Conference, World Bank Global Director for Climate Change Valerie Hickey underscored the need for the removal of superfluous subsidies through policy reforms, such as mobilising domestic finance through taxes and expenditure. `...the mother of all policy reforms that will mobilise climate finance for which plumbing is absolutely critical is subsidies,` she said.

She alluded to a UN desertification moot in which it was revealed that $1 billion per day was needed to combat drought and desertification whereas $2 billion per day in agriculture subsidies was being doled out. She said these subsidies were counter-productive. She said globally there were subsidies to the tune of $1.5 trillion in the energy, agriculture, and fisheries alone, while calling for subsidy reforms.

At the start of her key-note, Ms Hickey admitted there was not enough money and the climate finance goal of $300 billion agreed at COP29 in Baku was insufficient.

`It`s not (lot of money).

Most of it is in lending. It`s not in grants. Most of it is already there. It`s not addition,` she said, claiming that there was not enough money whetherit`s domestic or public budget, private finance, or international public finance.

`Even with climate finance, we have not optimised it. Seventy per cent of climate finance goes towards mitigation, but we heard today that mitigation isn`t really the issue [...]. The issue is adaptation,` she added.

`Out of all the climate finance, less than 20pc goes to the Global South, where the impacts of climate change are real, she said.

She said carbon markets had huge potentialin the compliance markets but the voluntary carbon markets, it has gone from $2 billion in 2022 to less than $725 million just one year later. Even as they grow, carbon markets arenot going to be enough.

The second silver bullet being talked about is private finance which can drive climate action. One of the reasons climate finance is not flowing is because there were disincentives. `The private sector is sitting on the sidelines,` she said.

The World Bank official said there was no data to base climate action on and until this problem was not fixed we do not want what is working and what is not working.

`While there are no silver bullets when it comes to climate finance we need to remember the movie title that we have to look for it everywhere, for everyone, and all at once, she concluded.

Two existential issues Speaking at the climate finance session, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said Pakistan faced two existential issues: one is population control and another is climate change. He said though there was a need to deal with mitigation, the real and bigger issue was adaptation.

On the issue of climate change, he said: `We`ve known the what and why.

There`s no dearth of policy prescriptions. It`s ultimately about the how and who.` He also mentioned the National Adaptation Plan, the National Climate Finance Strategy launched in Baku, and a green taxonomy framework.

He disclosed the V20 (Vulnerable 20) climate prosperity plan was likely to be launched in April.

The minister also touched upon a recent long-term framework by the World Bank, saying as a part of its focused approach to tap global funds, Pakistan agreed to take action on population control and climate action involving climate resilience and decarbonisation.

Debt for nature swaps are viable to move forward in terms of climate finance, the minister said, adding that besides financing, capacity building was also required to implement climate goals.

According to the minister, public-private partnerships will drive action for climate finance.

The finance minister also mentioned bureaucratic hurdles in access to climate finance, saying the Green Climate Fund takes a lot of time to process requests for direly and urgently required money.

The World Bank official, Ms Hickey, agreed that green climate funds have a `convoluted` procedure and it was very cumbersome to tap these funds. The paperwork could be made simpler, she said while agreeing with reservations about red tape in these funds.

Former State Bank of Pakistan governor Shamshad Akhtar called climate change a lethal threat, which has disrupted the economy, the textile, the livestock, as well as caused displacement. `Pakistan`s climate challenges require investments in the range of $US40 to 50 billion per year till 2050.

Ironically, Pakistan`s current climate flows are onesixth to one-eighth of the requirement,` she added.

The cost of climate inaction is $250 billion by 2030 and $1.2 trillion by 2050,she cautioned, saying the climate was an evolving challenge with economywide consequences as it affects food security, biodiversity, and the economy.

SBP former governor Salim Raza spoke about carbon markets, both compliance and voluntary, to unlock finance for climate action.

`Lived reality` Earlier, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal delivered the inaugural address in the prime minister`s stead. He said Pakistan was paying for the emissions produced by the Global North and climate change was a `lived reality` for the country.

`We have endured catastrophic floods, rapid glacial melts, scorching heat waves and crippling droughts all intensifying in frequency and severity.

He said the conference was not just a discussion but a call to action. `We must move from awareness to impact, policy to execution and from independent efforts to collective responsibility,` the minister said,stressing the need for execution of policies and frameworks already existing in the country to combat the impact of climate change.

The same session was addressed by UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mohamed Yahya and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. `Climate change is nolonger a distant threat.

It is happening now,` said Mr Yahya.

Recalling the 2022 monsoon floods which submerged one-third of the country under water, the UN official said, `A disaster of this magnitude should have been a wake-up call for the world, yet the emissions continue to rise.

KP CM Gandapur said 37 per cent of KP`s land comprised forest area, making up 40-45 per cent of the forest cover of Pakistan. He highlighted, `As a carbon sink, were are removing 50 per cent of the carbon of Pakistan.` `According to the UNDP and World Bank research, for this much forest area, we need at least Rs332bn per year. I am notable to invest this much money but at least my province and my people are able to perform a job that requires this big an amount,` he said.

The finance minister made these comments at a session about climate finance at the conference in which Valerie Hickey, the global director for climate change at the World Bank, and former State Bank of Pakistan governors Shamshad Akhtar and Salim Raza also spoke.

On its first day, the twoday moot was addressed by federalministers forfinance and planning, the PM`s climate change coordinator, UN officials and civil society experts from different countries. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, and Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz could not participate in the conference despite making a prior commitment.