At COP31, PM Shehbaz Calls for Grant-Based Climate Finance and Warns Against Weaponising Water

ANTALYA — Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the international community to turn global solidarity into practical action against climate disasters, calling for grant-based financing and a major expansion of resilience and adaptation funds for vulnerable economies. He made the remarks while delivering Pakistan’s national statement at the COP31 Leaders’ Summit in Antalya, Türkiye.
The prime minister said that countries hit by climate disasters need timely assistance and financing that does not deepen their debt burden. He called for grant-based finance, including public-private partnerships, alongside substantially increased resilience and adaptation funds, which he described as “survival funds” for struggling economies.
Referring to the August 2025 flash floods in Buner, Shehbaz Sharif recounted the case of a young man whose village was devastated just two days before his wedding. He said the tragedy reflected the experience of millions in Pakistan and across the developing world, who contribute least to climate change but bear its most severe consequences.
The prime minister also recalled the 2022 floods, which submerged one-third of Pakistan, affected 33 million people, killed more than 1,700 and caused economic losses exceeding $30 billion. He warned that climate impacts do not respect borders and that no country can confront the crisis alone.
Highlighting Pakistan’s clean-energy transition, Shehbaz said the country had added more than 20 gigawatts of distributed solar capacity in just two years, while clean sources now account for nearly 55 percent of the energy mix. He also cited Pakistan’s target of reducing carbon emissions by around 50 percent by 2035.
On water security, the prime minister said water must never be weaponised and that no country should be allowed to endanger the lives and livelihoods of downstream populations. He called on states to honour water-sharing agreements in both letter and spirit.
Concluding his address, Shehbaz Sharif said the success of COP31 should be measured not by pledges but by the families protected, the resources delivered and the meaningful actions sustained over time. He thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, First Lady Emine Erdoğan and the Turkish people for their hospitality and solidarity.