Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb has called on international climate funds to simplify their financing procedures and accelerate access to funds, stressing that Pakistan requires faster financial support to respond to climate-related disasters and turn its climate commitments into investable projects. The finance minister made the remarks while participating in the World Economic Forum’s “Financing Planet and Prosperity” meeting during a series of high-level engagements in New York. His visit is taking place alongside the UNGA High-Level Week of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, where climate finance, disaster resilience and development priorities remain part of broader international discussions.
Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb highlighted Pakistan’s exposure to climate-related disasters, particularly floods that have caused damage to infrastructure and affected communities across the country. He outlined efforts aimed at strengthening disaster-response mechanisms, improving early-warning systems and developing costed climate-investment plans that can support more structured financing and implementation. The finance minister also pointed to financing mobilised through the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and international capital markets for relief, adaptation and reconstruction activities. At the same time, he emphasised that external assistance alone would not be sufficient, noting the need to complement international financing with domestic resources and adequate fiscal buffers.
During the meeting, the finance minister specifically urged the Green Climate Fund and the Loss and Damage Fund to make their procedures more accessible and accelerate the process through which vulnerable countries can obtain financing. He stressed that climate-related challenges require continued attention and that delays in accessing available resources can affect countries’ ability to respond to disasters and implement resilience measures. For Pakistan, faster access to climate finance is particularly relevant as the country works to address the financial requirements associated with disaster recovery, adaptation and long-term climate resilience.
Separately, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb discussed Pakistan’s transition towards a regulated virtual-assets framework at the “United Nations Digital Cooperation Day 2026 – Blockchain and the Tokenized Future: Sovereign Choices and Safeguards for Next-Gen DPI.” During the engagement, he said tokenization should be directed towards practical economic requirements rather than being treated solely as a technology initiative. He identified areas including reducing remittance costs, supporting small and medium-sized enterprise financing, facilitating sovereign debt-related applications and expanding financial access as potential areas where tokenization could have economic relevance. He also stressed that private-sector innovation needs to operate alongside appropriate state safeguards, inclusive digital infrastructure and international cooperation.
The finance minister also participated in the launch of the COP31 Action Agenda, where he expressed Pakistan’s support for the initiative and highlighted its alignment with the country’s national climate priorities and NDC 3.0. Among the areas identified as shared priorities were clean energy and electrification, expansion of renewable energy, energy-efficient buildings and climate-resilient cities. Climate education and public awareness were also highlighted, alongside food security and climate-resilient agriculture. These areas form part of the wider effort to connect national climate commitments with practical programmes and investment requirements.
Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb welcomed the proposed Climate Implementation Bridge, describing the mechanism as a potential means of helping countries convert their Nationally Determined Contributions into investable and bankable projects. He stressed that the central challenge is increasingly focused on implementing climate plans rather than simply developing them. In this context, the availability of clearly defined action points and key performance indicators can provide a framework for tracking progress and measuring outcomes. The emphasis on bankable projects also reflects the need to connect climate targets with financing structures capable of attracting resources for implementation.
Pakistan’s position at the international engagements therefore centred on improving access to climate finance, strengthening domestic preparedness and linking climate commitments with projects that can secure funding and deliver measurable results. The finance minister’s engagements also connected climate financing with wider discussions on digital infrastructure, virtual assets and financial inclusion. By highlighting both international financing requirements and domestic fiscal capacity, Pakistan is seeking to address the funding needs associated with climate adaptation and disaster resilience while advancing its broader climate and digital policy priorities.
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