UPDATE - Pakistani Premier Sharif urges developed countries to fulfill financial pledges on climate

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM CHINESE VICE PREMIER

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday urged the developed countries to fulfill their financial commitments made during the COP27 and COP 28.

Addressing the UN Climate Change Conference COP29 in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, Sharif said that financial support should be grant based for developing countries.

"I strongly feel that climate finance must be grant based and not add to the debt burden of vulnerable developing countries," he said.

Sharif also briefed the participants on the 2022 devastating floods that killed over 1,700 people and caused over $30 billion loss to Pakistan economy.

Pakistan faced one of the most devastating floods due to climate change back in 2022 which left millions of people homeless, millions of acres of land and houses submerged, and standing crops completely destroyed, he said.

The Pakistani prime minister announced shifting 30% of vehicles to electricity by the end of this decade.

Addressing the summit, Bangladeshi leader Muhammad Yunus proposed three zeros - zero carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment - for a radical shift in civilization to prevent further environmental destruction.

He added: "In order to survive, we need to create another civilization, another culture, a counter culture, which is based on a different lifestyle. It will be based on zero waste."

China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang called for collective action in the face of climate challenges and highlighted the necessity of a “fundamental shift in development patterns to tackle climate change.”

In his remarks at the summit, Ding, who is also the special representative of President Xi Jinping, stressed the role of funding and technology transfer in helping developing countries enhance their climate resilience and adopt sustainable practices.

He also called on the developed nations to increase financial support and provide greater technology transfer to developing nations, enabling them to meet their climate goals.