ISLAMABAD, 16 NOV (DNA) — Pakistan has called for stronger international commitments to address the rapid decline of the Himalayan–Karakoram–Hindukush (HKH) cryosphere, warning that the consequences of accelerated glacier melt are already being felt across the region.
In a video message to a side event on Cryosphere Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, the Pakistan’s climate minister, Dr Musadik Malik, described the HKH range as the “white rooftops of the world” and a lifeline for millions in South Asia.
Pakistan, he noted, is home to around 13,000 glaciers that feed the Indus River system and underpin the nation’s food security, economy and ecosystems. Dr Malik said climate-driven glacier melt was proceeding at an unprecedented pace, leading to increasing hazards such as glacial lake outburst floods.
He also pointed to global inequities in climate finance, arguing that a handful of major emitters contribute most to global carbon pollution while also receiving the bulk of green financing. He urged countries with historic emissions responsibility to support adaptation efforts in vulnerable mountain regions and called for the cryosphere agenda to be elevated at COP30.
The session, organised by Pakistan’s climate ministry in partnership with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), also heard from officials representing Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Nepal, Bhutan and international bodies including UNESCO, UNDP and the Asian Development Bank. — DNA
