The Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad and the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change, supported by the Embassy of France in Pakistan, convened a high-level COP30 dialogue to assess ten years since the Paris Agreement and chart priorities for Pakistan’s climate response.
Dr. Neelum Nigar opened the session by stressing that the event aimed to reflect on a decade of climate progress while highlighting the urgent work that remains for vulnerable countries like Pakistan. She said outcomes from COP30 underline the need for sustained commitment, cooperation and informed action.
In his welcome remarks, Director General ISSI Ambassador Sohail Mahmood described COP30 in Belem as taking place amid a strained multilateral climate landscape that exposed widening gaps between ambition and delivery, especially on finance, just transition and the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund. He highlighted Pakistan’s disproportionate vulnerability despite contributing under one percent to global emissions and urged accessible, predictable and grant based climate finance backed by long-term partnerships.
Aisha Khan of CSCCC called for climate policy rooted in evidence, equity and national preparedness. She argued that Pakistan must shift from reactive crisis management to proactive resilience planning, and welcomed the post-COP format as an opportunity for honest appraisal and collective learning ahead of COP31.
Delivering the keynote, Secretary Ministry of Climate Change Ms. Aisha Humera Moriani framed COP30 as an implementation COP and outlined Pakistan’s submission of NDC 3.0, a more ambitious roadmap extending to 2035. She warned that the core challenge lies not in NDC pledges but in the weak means of implementation — finance, technology and capacity building — and reiterated that adaptation finance must be grant based to avoid indebting climate-vulnerable states. She welcomed the Loss and Damage Fund’s operationalisation while urging greater capitalisation, direct access modalities and simplified procedures, and called for joint research and provincial leadership.
Guest of Honour Ambassador Nicolas Galey offered a frank assessment of global climate politics, noting that scientific consensus and unified action are under strain even as impacts intensify. He reaffirmed France’s commitments to carbon neutrality by 2050 and continued climate finance support, highlighting existing partnerships in Pakistan, including gender-focused initiatives, and encouraged ongoing collaboration across government, academia and civil society.
Ambassador Nabeel Munir provided a strategic overview of COP30 results, acknowledging the decision to triple adaptation finance by 2035 while pointing out gaps in timelines and baselines. He underlined Pakistan’s NDC 3.0 ambition, including a 50 percent emissions reduction pathway by 2035, and reiterated that adaptation support must come in the form of grants rather than concessional loans.
During the panel, Dr. Abid Suleri traced the climate agenda from Kyoto through Paris to Belem and emphasised the need for bottom-up governance that channels district-level inputs into national commitments, while proposing a regional coalition to address shared South Asian challenges. From a finance perspective, Mr. Hiz Jamali highlighted implementation constraints such as slow disbursements and project delivery gaps, and urged bankable project design, strong execution capacity and transparent monitoring to attract blended and private finance.
The dialogue closed with an interactive session where participants discussed strengthening domestic capacity, institutional collaboration and sustained climate diplomacy. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, Chairman BoG ISSI, and presentation of mementos to speakers and participants.
