ANTALYA: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday urged wealthy nations to provide grant-based climate financing and boost resilience and adaptation funds for vulnerable countries, speaking at the COP31 climate summit in Turkey's Mediterranean resort city of Antalya.
This year's summit focuses on transitioning toward a low-carbon future, with delegates from nearly 200 countries meeting as global greenhouse gas emissions show little sign of falling and wars, inflation and other crises compete for political attention.
Addressing the summit, Sharif highlighted Pakistan's efforts to promote clean energy but warned that "national effort cannot replace a fair and just global response."
"When climate disasters strike, vulnerable countries need timely help and finance that does not deepen their debt," Sharif said, adding that Pakistan called for "grant-based finance, including public-private partnership, alongside significant enhancement of resilience and adaptation funds, which amount to survival funds, especially for struggling economies."
Sharif said clean energy sources now provide nearly 55% of Pakistan's energy needs, and that the country is advancing electric mobility while targeting a cut in projected emissions of about 50% by 2035.
