Introduction / Executive Summary

Recurrent Flood Losses and Governance Gaps: The 2025 floods which caused estimated damages of Rs 822 billion, highlight that Pakistan’s disaster vulnerability stems not only from climate shocks but also from weak governance, fiscal misalignment, and underinvestment in adaptation. This also stresses the persistent lack of coordination between federal and provincial governments. There is not an adequate harmonized mechanism to translate federal commitments into provincial implementations.

Fiscal constraints and Misaligned Priorities: Budget allocation to climate relevant ministries and departments have been revised downward this year. This is particularly for the Ministry of Climate Change and National Disaster Risk Management Fund, which reflects low fiscal prioritization for disaster preparedness. Similarly, provincial ADPs diverge widely, where one province spends heavily on post flood housing reconstruction and the other merely on irrigation. Thus, there is little consistency in climate tagging or measurable outcomes.

Climate financing remains mitigation-heavy and donor-driven. Pakistan must rebalance toward adaptation, linking carbon revenues to resilience, and improving fund utilization in key sectors such as irrigation, local government, and housing.

Legal and Policy Strengthening: Amendments to the Climate Change Act (2017) and NDMA Act (2010) should mandate annual reporting on disaster preparedness, while provincial assemblies should table resilience audits with budgets to ensure transparency and accountability in implementation.

Sustained, Year-Round Climate Governance: Discussions on floods should not end with the monsoon season. Climate and Disaster preparedness must become a continuous, institutionalized priority, anchored in coordinated federal, provincial planning, enforcement of land-use laws, and investment in year-round risk reduction systems.