Climate change is an intergenerational issue that will disproportionately affect coming generations, especially youth, when natural systems are damaged beyond repair.

Pakistan is situated in a sensitive climatic region, exposed to severe climate change effects and natural calamities. Recurrent floods, glacial lake outburst floods, landslides, avalanches, drought, saltwater intrusion, and cyclones have caused major damage to life, property, natural ecosystems, and the country's economy. In 2022, the country faced the most destructive and widespread floods in its history. Around 33 million people have been badly affected by these cataclysmic floods. According to the British Red Cross, the summer monsoon rainfall in 2022 will be three times more than the 30-year normal. The disaster generated a massive $16 billion reconstruction cost, raising the question of whether Pakistan's recovery might include increased climate resilience, given the country's enormous fiscal constraints. In Pakistan, plenty of causes contributed to such severe floods. While climate change makes Pakistan more vulnerable to severe weather disasters, flooding is more than just a climate change narrative. In addition, it is also faced with addressing land degradation and improving water management while keeping the economy afloat amid a historic debt crisis, all while facing the continual prospect of new climate-related disasters.

Extreme rainfall is becoming more prevalent and fiercer in many places of the world due to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Despite its low GHG emissions, Pakistan is being severely impacted by climate change. It is only responsible for 0.3 percent of world emissions so far, but it is disproportionately and negatively affected by climate change due to increased unpredictability and extremes in weather. In the lead-up to COP27, Pakistani Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman directed to the disaster as an indication of how Pakistan is being affected by a climate crisis that is mainly caused by other countries’ GHG emissions. While developed nations managed to keep loss and damage off the UN climate negotiations agenda for years, aiding for loss and damage from climate change became a significant point of discussion at COP27.

Mujtaba Hussain, the additional secretary of the Ministry of climate change, at a two-day event organized by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) in Lahore, raised the issue of lack of proper understanding among the youth of climate change at the federal as well as provincial level, saying that absolutely nobody understood this issue at the local level. “The message has to go down to the tehsil and union council level,” he suggested and added that it was the responsibility of the government to mainstream youth climate change into the development process.

On another occasion, Special Assistant to Prime Minister said, “Pakistan's youth carry incredible potential to ensure sustainable development. A resilient youth translates to a resilient nation, and our youth have taken initiatives that carry not only socioeconomic significance but have an eco-friendliness facet to them as well. The incumbent government is very cognizant of this youth potential and has made it its top priority to engage youth in its developmental interventions.”

In a survey conducted by UNICEF in 2021, students in Pakistan were questioned about their knowledge of climate change and global warming. The findings revealed that only 73% of respondents in Pakistan were able to provide explanations on these topics. This percentage was higher than the regional response (64%) and was the highest among all eight countries in South Asia participating in the survey. These findings highlight a significant lack of awareness among the youth in Pakistan regarding these important environmental issues. What can be done?

Pakistani cities are in the heart of multiple fault lines in terms of climate change, which has resulted in rising temperatures and terrible air pollution in several of our cities. Many of us believe that the government should take the most appropriate actions to tackle this issue. But the dynamics are changing because the youth of Pakistan would like to do something to address climate change with the necessary support. Curriculum reform ought to highlight not only improving students' awareness of climate change, but also their ability to apply that information in real-life circumstances. This will require a variety of teaching techniques that foster students' confidence and practical abilities so that they can take meaningful action to combat climate change.Fostering youth-led climate change networks, volunteerism, and community service could create spaces where young people can apply this knowledge and fulfill their aspirations for climate action, and Pakistan's success is heavily dependent on the goodwill of its international partners.

Muhammad Abdullah is pursuing a Bachelors in Public Administration from NUST, Islamabad.