The United Nations and Pakistan held a major conference in Geneva on Monday to rally support for rebuilding the country after devastating floods, in what is expected to be a major test case for who pays for climate disasters.
During the summit, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for "massive investments" to help Pakistan recover from a "monsoon on steroids".
"Countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis need massive support," he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned his country was "racing against time" to deal with towering needs.
"We need to give 33 million people their future back."
Also, Pakistan's Sharif said that his country should be able to cover half the cost but pleaded with the international community to fund the rest.
The conference, which featured appearances by French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as a number of donor Governments, regional organizations, international and national NGOs and the United Nations, resulted in pledges of $9 million in new funding.
The donor Governments will provide this money to help Pakistan recover from last year's catastrophic floods, vowing to become a model for how countries can build climate change resilience.
According to UN, Pakistan is still reeling from the unprecedented deluge that submerged huge swathes and killed more than 1,700 people, while over 33 million others suffered its impacts.
It's worth mentioning that the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework, which Pakistan presented at the United Nations-sponsored conference, calls for $16.3 billion over the next three years for the initial efforts to rebuild and improve its ability to withstand future climate shocks.
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