What is Pakistan`s climate story? Is it that we are the fifth most vulnerable country in the world to climate change? Is it the memory of 2022`s biblicalfloods-33milliondisplaced, over 1,700 lives lost, a third of the country submerged under water, and over $30 billion in damages and losses? Is it that millions face climate induced disasters annually, be it the heatwaves in Sindh and southern Punjab, or glacial lake outburst floods swallowing villages in Gilgit Baltistan? Or is it the fact that, in a country where climate change is a lived reality for millions, the national conversation remains dominated by hollow jargon`stakeholder consultations`, `capacity building`, `paradigm shifts` that mean nothing to those fighting for survivalin the harshest of conditions? Pakistan`s climate crisis response is trapped in a paradox. Within the development sector, and for those involved in the climate and environment policy space, climate change is often reduced to a checklist.

Millions are spent on feasibility studies, climate-smart technologies and workshops in luxury hotels.

Projects are designed around donor timelines, framed in the sterile language of `logframes` and `key performance indicators.` At these workshops, solutions are presented and policymakers ritually pledge allegiance to global climate goals.

THE KNOWLEDGE-ACTION GAP We have no shortage of knowledge.

Reams of data detail our vulnerability and yet, action remains fragmented, performative and often, tone-deaf to the daily realities of those most affected. This chasm between what we know and what we do, the `knowledge-action gap`, is not accidental. It exists because the system prioritises technical fixes over lived realities, donor agendas over grassroots needs and superficial metrics over meaningful change.

This misalignment stems from a lack of political will and insufficient public engagement. Too often, climate discussions are held without those who are the real stakeholders: the smallholder farmers struggling with erratic rainfall, the fishermen witnessing declining fish stocks, wildlife rangers who are the first responders to forest fires, and urban dwellers suffering from rising temperatures.

They are not merely subjects of climate reports, they are experts in their own lived experiences, and addressing climate change effectively requires listening to these voices and integrating their knowledge into policy making.

A COMMUNICATION CONUNDRUM This disconnect is further exacerbated by the way climate science is communicated. Often conveyed in technical terms, climate science does not always translate into compelling narratives that resonate with the public or policymakers.

The lack of accessible, relatable communication results in policies that may be well-researched but struggle to gain traction.

Without effective communication that bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and public engagement, climate change remains an abstract issue rather than an urgent, lived reality demanding immediate action. This is not to say that Pakistan hasn`t formulated policies in addressing climate change. However, the gap between policy formulation and implementation remains wide.

I contend that the climate crisis is not merely an environmental crisis, it is fundamentally a policy and communication challenge. Effective climate action requires not only scientific understanding and policy formulation, but also the ability to translate that knowledge into narratives that drive political will and community engagement.

This means shifting the climate conversation from the closed doors of conference halls to the streets, fields and homes where climate change is a daily reality. It means engaging with those at the front lines of climate disasters, not as passive victims, but as active participants in shaping solutions. Climate resilience cannot be built through top-down policies alone, it must be informed by those whose survival depends on it.

HOLDING POLICY-MAKERS ACCOUNTABLE To break the cycle of performative climate action, we must recognise that communication is not just about raising awareness; it is about holding policy-makers accountable. Climate communication must move beyond broadcasting policy commitments and, instead, focus on interrogating the effectiveness of these policies.

The national conversation on climate change needs to move out from conference halls and resonate with the public.

Pakistan`s media and civil society have a responsibility in bridging this gap. Investigative journalism,community-led storytelling and data driven reporting can help expose inefficiencies, highlight both failures and successes, and push for more transparent and inclusive climate governance.

At the same time, communication should not be limited to media discourse. It should instead create a feedback loop, where the voices of those affected by climate change directly inform policy priorities. The public should not only be recipients of climate information, but active participants in shaping its narrative.

This means creating platforms where communities, researchers and policymakers collaborate, not through tokenised representation, but through meaning ful engagement, where communities have ownership over climate adaptation strategies.

For climate communication to be effective, it must break away from being a one-way channel of information flow. It must become a force that interrogates, scrutinises and drives accountability. Climate narratives should not be limited to vulnerability and disaster coverage, but should also focus on political failures, governance shortfalls, and the economic dimensions of climate action.

The framing of climate change must shift from a crisis that happens to people to a crisis that is made worse by policy choices, economic models and governance failures.

Instead of simply disseminating climate reports and policy papers, communicators must challenge climate policy-makers on the gaps between rhetoric and reality.

For instance, when Pakistan secures climate financing, how much of it actually reaches vulnerable communities? How are funds being allocated, and who is benefitting? Are communities being consulted in decisions that directly impact their survival? Without making these questions central to climate communication, we risk reinforcing a cycle of performative commitments and unfulfilled promises.

Our climate response will only be meaningful if it moves beyond elite-driven negotiations and acknowledges that those at the margins hold the most critical insights into resilience and adaptation. The public must be at the centre of climate discourse, not as passive listeners but as key stakeholders, because those are the stories that matter and those are the stories that need to be told.

The writer is a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Bristol in the UK