Amnesty: Global Action on Pakistan Heatwaves "Urgently Needed"

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Facts

  • An Amnesty International report released Monday calls on the world to help Pakistan mitigate the effects of dangerous heat waves as it faces "severe consequences" of climate change.1
  • Amnesty calls on wealthier countries to reduce their carbon emissions and commit to providing financial support to developing nations most affected by climate change. The NGO also calls on the Pakistani government to develop heat action plans to mitigate the health impacts of heatwaves.2
  • The report includes interviews with Pakistani citizens about their experiences during the 2021 and 2022 heatwaves. Healthcare workers report that laborers were experiencing severe health complications from working in the heat.3
  • In 2022, 33M Pakistanis were affected by massive flooding, which record rainfall and melting glaciers contributed to. The southern city of Jacobabad is considered one of the hottest cities in the world, where temperatures reached a high of 52 Celsius (125.6F) in June 2021.1
  • Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director in South Asia, Dinushika Dissanayake, said Pakistan is the "frontline of the climate crisis." 40M Pakistanis have no access to electricity, as poverty exacerbates the effects of climate change.2

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Amnesty International, and 3DAWN.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Amnesty International. Pakistan is going to be one of the nations that bear the brunt of climate change, and immediate international intervention is needed to avert a climate disaster. Wealthier nations need to step in to contribute financial aid to help Pakistan mitigate the effects of climate change, and the government of Pakistan needs to take the climate threat seriously. The human toll of inaction will be unprecedented.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Washington Post. The greatest predictor of vulnerability to climate change is poverty, and climate activists and their anti-growth agenda will make countries like Pakistan less prepared to handle climate disasters. Climate reparations would incentivize these nations to not develop by adopting low-carbon policies, hurting their economic growth. It would be unconscionable to deny Pakistan access to the global middle class by forcing a Western climate agenda on them.