'Climate finance must go beyond green investment'

The Express Tribune reported that State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad called for climate finance to address both environmental risks and limited access to financial services. Speaking at an SBP and Alliance for Financial Inclusion programme in Islamabad, he said small farmers, small businesses and low-income households face high exposure to climate shocks while often lacking insurance, savings and formal finance. The four-day event has 38 participants from central banks and regulators in 24 countries.

Ahmad cited Pakistan’s 2022 floods, which caused nearly $15 billion in physical damage and a further $15 billion in economic losses, affecting more than 30 million people and damaging 2.2 million homes. He said financial inclusion had reached 71% and the gender gap had fallen to 27%, while Pakistan was sharing its Green Taxonomy and climate-risk framework with other regulators. Measures outlined included green banking and climate-risk rules, targeted credit for underserved groups, and a women’s finance programme backed by the Asian Development Bank.