South Asia: climate risks, money and the green transition ^{CEFR B1}

South Asia faces both severe climate impacts and a complex search for money to adapt and shift energy systems. Pakistan’s 2022 floods displaced over 30 million people and caused damage close to one tenth of GDP. Nepal’s rapidly melting Himalayan glaciers threaten water supplies, increase the risk of glacial lake floods and lead to more landslides. Pakistan’s annual greenhouse gas emissions are projected to more than triple by 2030 without new measures.

Climate finance rules are set mainly in wealthier capitals. The UN framework and funds such as the Global Environment Facility and the Adaptation Fund exist for adaptation. Market mechanisms and newer instruments — carbon trading, voluntary carbon credits, green bonds and blended finance — aim to bring private money, but much value flows back to firms and institutions in rich countries through interest, fees, technology imports or debt repayment. Laurie Parsons describes this as structural injustice and warns poorer states face hard choices.

China is a leading supplier of solar panels, batteries and hydropower engineering in the region. Projects such as the Delta Blue Carbon Project in Pakistan began in 2015 to restore mangroves and issue carbon credits, but civil society raises concerns about transparency and revenue sharing. In 2021 Pakistan issued a USD 500 million green Eurobond to finance the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams; construction involves Chinese state-owned firms, and nearby communities report land loss, uneven compensation and relocation. The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will require emissions reporting for exports like steel and cement, adding another pressure on the region to secure finance without deepening dependency.