Words are not enough

Today it’s Pakistan. Tomorrow it could be your country.

For many years, since I was High Commissioner for Refugees, I visited Pakistan in different occasions and I always witnessed the enormous generosity of the Pakistani people.

At the same time, I could witness the difficult moments of the country — the earthquake, the floods, the impact of terrorist activities.

I have always seen the enormous generosity of the Pakistani people. And so it is the duty of the international community to correspond to that generosity, by expressing full solidarity with Pakistan. It is not solidarity, it is justice. When I look at the challenge, what I see are faces, human faces.

I hear stories like the ones I heard when I visited Pakistan in September.

Stories of lost lives. Lost jobs. Lost crops. Lost homes and lost communities.

And stories of sacrifice, generosity, and solidarity. I have seen resilience time and time again from the women and men of Pakistan. From enduring the scourge of natural disasters and terrorism, to Pakistan’s long and proud history of welcoming, protecting, and supporting millions of Afghan refugees currently living in Pakistan.

But that spirit of generosity and resilience needs to be matched with support for resilience from the global community. And it needs to happen in three fundamental ways.

First, with massive investments supporting Pakistan to rebuild homes, buildings and infrastructure; to jump-start jobs and agriculture; and ensure access to technology and knowledge to help withstand future disasters.

Second, with revolutionary action on finance. In addition to natural disasters, Pakistan is also a victim of the manmade disaster of a morally bankrupt global financial system.

A system that denies middle-income countries debt relief and concessional financing to invest in resilience and recovery. And that must change.

I renew my call to global leaders and multilateral development banks to join forces and develop creative ways for developing countries to access debt relief and concessional financing when they need it most.

And third, resilience requires meaningful climate action now.

If there is any doubt about loss and damage — go to Pakistan. You will see loss — and you will see damage — and you will see our common future.

We are on the road to climate ruin.

The 1.5 degree warming limit — universally agreed as the only way to safeguard our planet and our future — is on the verge of collapse. The risk is an irreversible collapse of the 1.5-degree goal. Moving as we are moving, we will get to 2.8 degrees of increased temperature. Imagine what will happen in Pakistan and everywhere in the world if things do not change.

As global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, we are all in danger.

Today it’s Pakistan. Tomorrow it could be your country. And I am deeply frustrated that global leaders are not giving this life-or-death emergency the action and investment it requires.

Because words are not enough. Without action, climate catastrophe is coming for all of us.