Shehbaz urges developed world to help developing nations address debt traps

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged developed nations to assist developing countries in overcoming debt traps, which he attributed largely to climate change-related natural disasters.

Speaking at the SDG Moment 2024 Meeting on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York, the PM emphasized that the 2022 floods in Pakistan, which resulted from climate change, caused unprecedented damage even though the country contributes only a fraction of global carbon emissions.

“In 2022, we had the worst flooding in our history due to climate change and that was not our fault. We do not contribute even a fraction of a percent in terms of carbon emissions,” he stressed, adding that wealthy, industrialized nations, responsible for the majority of emissions, must take responsibility and support developing nations.

““This is very important, otherwise this unbalanced, and unjust unfair system will lead to nowhere,” he warned.