DUBAI: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has said that adapting Pakistan to climate change is vital to adapting the Indus Basin to the impacts of climate change as the majority of population is linked to the river.

Addressing an event on ‘Living Indus Initiative’ held here at the Pakistan Pavilion at the venue of the United Nations’ 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) on Sunday, the PM said Pakistan’s climate challenge was primarily a water challenge that needed immediate action to be addressed.

He said Pakistan was the eighth most vulnerable country in the world to the impacts of climate change.

He pointed out that Living Indus was an umbrella initiative aimed at restoring the ecological health of the Indus within the boundaries of Pakistan.

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“The Indus River needs a voice, and we are here to give that voice,” he remarked.

This initiative, he said, suggested that “we need a minimum indicative investment between $11 billion and $17 billion over the next 15 years to mobilise from the public sector, private sector, citizens, and communities”.

He pointed out that Pakistan launched ‘Recharge Pakistan’, which was the first concrete step towards the Living Indus. The project will not only benefit millions of citizens but also serve as a model for climate innovation on a global scale, he added..