Pakistan On The Frontline: COP30, Global Injustice, And The Fight For Climate Justice |
As climate impacts intensify across the Global South, powerful nations are shaping a global climate order that protects their own interests while leaving vulnerable countries to bear the harshest consequences. Pakistan, among the world’s least responsible yet most affected, now finds itself confronting an unequal climate system that mirrors the geopolitical imbalances. The United States’ retreat from global climate leadership, underscored by its absence from COP30, has slowed international momentum.
Despite the boost to adaptation finance, COP30 largely failed to rise to the moment on the most urgent fronts: phasing out fossil fuels and closing the emissions gap. COP summits are fast becoming as ineffective as routine UN sessions, filled with rhetoric yet starved of real outcomes. This failure is no accident; it is sustained by the powerful nations of the Global North, whose calculated delays preserve their interests while vulnerable countries bear the mounting costs. Pakistan stands as one of the clearest examples of this injustice.
At COP30, China tried to benefit from the vacuum created by the absence of the US, projecting itself as a leader of South–South cooperation even as it remains the world’s largest emitter, with over 62% of its electricity produced from fossil fuels. China also holds significant influence over highly polluting mining operations in least-developed countries, where weak governance and limited regulation allow environmentally harmful extraction to flourish. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, countries like Pakistan shoulder the environmental........