IMF, Pakistan to open $1bn climate finance talks

An International Monetary Fund mission will arrive in Islamabad next week to discuss around $1 billion in climate financing for Pakistan, an adviser to the finance minister said on Thursday. Khurram Schehzad told Reuters that the mission would visit from Feb 24 to 28 for a “review and discussion” of climate resilience funding. The disbursement will take place under the Fund’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust, created in 2022 to provide long-term concessional cash for climate-related spending, such as adaptation and transitioning to cleaner energy. Pakistan made a formal request in October last year for around $1bn in funding from the IMF under the trust, to address the nation’s vulnerability to climate change. The country’s economy is on a long path to recovery after being stabilised under a $7bn IMF Extended Fund Facility it secured late last year.