Pakistani PM says he should not have to beg for help after catastrophic floods
The Guardian says Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, has said Pakistan should not be forced to go out with a “begging bowl” to rich polluting nations after the floods that have devastated the country and said he would be seeking “climate justice” from the international community.
Speaking from his home in Lahore, Sharif warned that Pakistan is facing an unprecedented crisis of health, food security and internal displacement after the “apocalyptic” monsoons which put a third of Pakistan’s regions under water. Some areas were hit by 1.7m of rainfall, the highest on record.
Scientists have determined that the floods were due to climate breakdown. But with Pakistan responsible for 0.8% of global carbon emissions, Sharif said it was the “responsibility of the developed countries, who caused these emissions, to stand by us”.