UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world owes impoverished Pakistan “massive” help recovering from devastating floods because other nations have contributed more to the climate change thought to have triggered the deluge.
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Months of monsoons and flooding have killed 1,391 people and affected 3.3 million in the Islamic nation. A half-million people there have become homeless. Planeloads of aid from the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and other countries have begun arriving. But there’s more to be done, Guterres said.
Nature, the UN chief said in Islamabad, has attacked Pakistan, which contributes less than 1% of global emissions, according to multiple experts. Nations “who are more responsible for climate change … should have faced this challenge,” Guterres said, seated next to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“We are heading into a disaster,” Guterres added. “We have waged war on nature and nature is tracking back and striking back in a devastating way. Today in Pakistan, tomorrow in any of your countries.”
UN chief said Friday other nations contributing to climate change are obligated to reduce emissions and help Pakistan. He assured Sharif that his voice was “entirely at the service of the Pakistani government and the Pakistani people” and that “the entire UN system is at the service of Pakistan.”
He said “Pakistan has not contributed in a meaningful way to climate change, the level of emissions in this country is relatively low. But Pakistan is one of the most dramatically impacted countries by climate change.”
Later, Guterres directed his words to the “international community,” saying that by some estimates, Pakistan needs about $30 billion to recover.
So far, UN agencies and several countries have sent nearly 60 planeloads of aid, and authorities say the United Arab Emirates is one of the most generous contributors, as it has sent so far 26 flights carrying aid or flood victims. ■
A clipper system will move quickly across the northern Plains into the Midwest Friday and the Northeast by Saturday, bringing a wintry mix of rain and snow showers ahead of a sweeping cold front.