Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam hands over to Global Shield organization an official request document support regarding Climate and Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance (CDRFI) during an event at Pakistan Pavilion on sidelines of the COP29 climate summit in Baku on 20.1.2024.
“Collaborative action today will safeguard communities and ecosystems for a more secure and equitable future.”
Introducing disaster insurance plans for vulnerable communities crucial for resilience building, PM’s climate aide Romina Khurshid Alam
BAKU/ Azerbaijan : 20 Nov 2024 – Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam said that the escalating adverse fallouts of climate change including extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and prolonged droughts have underlined the urgent need for climate-vulnerable developing countries to hammer out comprehensive strategies to address loss and damage in vulnerable communities.
However, integrating disaster risk financing into broader loss and damage efforts is a crucial step toward building resilience, ensuring timely response, and supporting long-term recovery, she emphasized while delivering a keynote address at an important event ‘Pakistan and the Global Shield’ held at the Pakistan Pavilion in Baku on the sidelines of COP29 global climate summit held on Wednesday.
“Integrating disaster risk financing into loss and damage efforts represents a proactive approach to managing the escalating costs of climate change. By combining innovative financial tools with inclusive, data-driven strategies, governments, and global partners can mitigate climate risks, support recovery, and foster resilience,” the PM’s climate aide Romina Khurshid Alam told the participants from various countries, UN agencies and nongovernmental organisations.
She said further that today’s discussions with climate and disaster insurance experts and the climate change & environmental coordination ministry’s senior officials explored the pressing gaps in pre-arranged financial protection—particularly in public infrastructure, agricultural livelihoods, and small businesses—and how the Global Shield can bring unique value by aligning development efforts, fostering a country-led process, and leveraging pre-arranged financing instruments.
“Let me also highlight an important takeaway from today Pakistan’s approach serves as a model for integrating disaster risk financing into broader loss and damage efforts. This comprehensive, data-informed, and inclusive process sets an inspiring precedent for other climate-vulnerable nations,” The PM’s coordinator Romina Khurshid Alam remarked.
In her welcome remarks, Secretary Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Ministry, Aisha Humera Moriani said that over the years, need for viable financial protection for communities and their livelihoods has gained significant attention with the increasing recognition of climate change as a critical public policy issue. This has led to the development of more detailed policies and strategies to address its impacts.
She said further that in Pakistan, the costs of most large-scale natural disasters are retained in the government books, and only a few disasters risk insurance or non-insurance instruments are present. That calls for an urgency of closing the significant financing gaps that remain in Pakistan’s ability to respond to such disasters. Unfortunately, insurance penetration, which could be crucial in mitigating financial losses, remains limited, and is less than 1% of the country’s GDP, she highlighted.
‘High-Level Meeting of Heads of States from the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) Region, COP29’
