KARACHI, Pakistan 

Pakistan requires an annual investment of $40 billion to $50 billion until 2050 to meet its looming climate change challenges, a former head of the country's central bank said on Thursday.

Former State Bank of Pakistan Governor Shamshad Akhtar said at a two-day international climate change conference, "Breathe Pakistan," in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, that the South Asian country is in dire need of finance to meet the climate-related challenges.

“I think unless we address this very lethal threat that faces the global community and the global landscape, we are not going to get anywhere, and we will face economic disruption,” she said.

Pakistan, which is responsible for less than 1% of Global emissions, is among the countries vulnerable to climate change ravages.

Constant and prolonged droughts coupled with devastating floods and extended heat waves have taken a toll on the country's economy.

Massive floods inundated a third of the country in 2022, killing 1,700 people and causing a whopping $30 billion in economic losses to its already struggling economy.

A Geneva conference in Jan. 2023 saw pledges worth around $10 billion from multilateral financial institutions and countries in the aftermath of the worst floods, but most of the money pledged has not yet reached people on the ground.

The country received $2.8 billion from international creditors against the total pledges by June 2024.