Noor with her children, inside her waterproof tent provided by Save The Children, Sindh, Pakistan

Noor's story (in her own words) "It has been a month or so since I lost my husband. I have two daughters and three sons. When the rains came, the roof of our house collapsed and my husband was crushed under it. The villagers managed to save me and my children from the house. My children keep asking me for their father, and I have to tell them that he has passed away and will not return. We lived in the open for around two weeks and then Save the Children provided us with the tent we’re living in now. You can see the rubble of my home behind this tent. I was pregnant when my husband died, at full term, and my child was born shortly after I became a widow. The medicines you see here on my bed are for my newborn as she is sickly. My brother supports me and helps me care for my children. When my husband was alive I did not have to turn to anyone for help, but now I am dependent on my brothers. I have lentils and some vegetables for my children to eat. My neighbour or my brother brings me milk for the children. Sometimes it is difficult for my brother to provide for me too as he has small children of his own. Save the Children provided me with food rations that had lentils and rice, and that lasted for a month. My husband was the sole breadwinner and now that he is gone, now that our crops are gone, I need help to rebuild my home and to provide food for my children." This content can be used by Save The Children members and is from Save The Children programmes, but please note that the same content may be used by other charities who are part of the Disasters Emergencies Committee in the UK. Relief operation for flood affected individuals and families arranged by Save The Children, Sindh, Pakistan. Programme info Save the Children response in this district of Sindh province includes provision of the following humanitarian assistance: ● Food Packs ● Shelter & NFIs ● Education/Establishing Temporary Learning Centers (TLCs). Sanam Maher / DEC

Climate justice or just more blah blah blah? Pakistan puts world leaders’ promises to the test

4 min read

9 Jan 2023 Pakistan

Blog by Shaheen Chughtai

Acting Asia Regional Director at Save the Children International

The world should be watching to see if the world’s high-income countries and historical emitters back their ambitious talk with real cash.

Noor with her children, inside her waterproof tent provided by Save The Children, Sindh, Pakistan.

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35-year-old Noor and her family were at home when the roof collapsed. Their small, mud-brick house had been battered by violent storms for days on end. Noor was heavily pregnant, and expecting her fifth child any day. Unable to escape in time, she was crushed under the rubble.

Neighbours managed to pull Noor and her four children from the wreckage. Tragically, however, her husband did not make it. Pregnant, homeless, and grief-stricken, Noor had no choice but to sleep outside in the open with her children for two weeks. They’d lost everything.

Noor and her children were among 32 million people in Pakistan whose lives were devastated by last year’s unprecedented floods, which left 8 million people homeless and were described by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as “climate carnage beyond imagination.”

The global climate crisis is already destroying people’s lives, but when it comes to climate disasters, all countries are not equal. Pakistan is only responsible for less than 1% of global emissions but has suffered over $30 billion in loss and damage due to last year’s floods alone.

Across the world, it is the poorest and most disadvantaged communities that have lost the most as a result of the climate crisis. And yet, those same countries have contributed the least to cause it. Those who have little to begin with are pushed deeper into debt and destitution. And children in poorer countries are the biggest losers of all: climate disasters leave them hungrier, sicker, and more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Their schooling is interrupted or they stop learning altogether. All of this leaves them even more vulnerable when the next disaster hits.

This vast inequity was recognised by high-income, high-emitting countries at last November’s COP27 climate talks, in what was applauded as a “historic” agreement to set up a global “loss and damage” fund to provide financial assistance to vulnerable countries on the frontlines of the climate emergency.

A sincere commitment to climate justice, or – in the words of renowned teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg – more blah, blah blah? Today we find out, as members of those same governments meet in Geneva for what will be a litmus test of their resolve to keep their promises to vulnerable countries.

The International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan, hosted today by the Pakistan Government and the UN, is the first international donor conference to take place since COP27, and presents an opportunity for governments and donors to demonstrate their will and commitment to addressing the climate emergency by funding Pakistan’s recovery and reconstruction efforts.

In short, the world should be watching to see if the world’s high-income countries and historical emitters back their ambitious talk with real cash.

Pakistan’s government estimates it will need over US$16 billion to build back flood-affected communities in a climate-resilient way. These funds are vital, not only to help those affected recover now, but also to limit the cost to Pakistan in terms of loss of life, destruction of homes and livelihoods, and damage to the national economy from future disasters and slow onset climate changes.

Noor with her newborn baby, inside her waterproof tent provided by Save The Children, Sindh, Pakistan.

Noor gave birth to her daughter in a tent given to her by Save the Children. Aid agencies like us are doing everything we can to help families whose lives have been destroyed by the floods. We’re providing thousands of children and their families with food, medicine and other essentials to help them get back on their feet.

But children like Noor’s newborn daughter – born into the world in an emergency tent – have the right to expect more from us. She has the right to grow up in a country that is greener, more climate resilient and better able to protect itself when the next megaflood hits.

A promise to support the most climate-vulnerable countries is, after all, a promise to protect children’s futures. It’s a promise to build schools that withstand the impacts of climate disasters and improve children’s access to safe drinking water and healthcare. Collectively, governments must make sure children, wherever they are born, have a safe place to call home.

Is it a promise the international community will keep? Or, with the cameras gone, will rich countries turn their backs on the world’s most vulnerable children?

Let’s find out.