Irish Examiner view: We must aid Pakistan in its hour of need  

As well as offering help, the world should recognise our shared destiny after Pakistan's devastating climate change disaster

Residents of the city of Bahrain in Pakistan trying to cope with the aftermath of the devastating floods there this week. Picture: Naveed Ali/AP

Every day, the news emerging from Pakistan seems more and more apocalyptic.

The floods in that country are causing damage on a scarcely believable scale and even the briefest descriptions are chilling. The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, has described it as the toughest moment in the country’s history, and he isn’t exaggerating.

Hundreds of his fellow citizens are missing, feared drowned, and that number is expected to rise. There are fears that one third of the country may end up under water, while towns and villages have been described as simply turning into rivers. In some areas, 70% to 80% of essential crops such as rice has been lost, which will have serious repercussions for the population in the coming months; over half a million cows have died in one province alone.

Those last markers of the devastation will resonate more than most in Ireland. It is estimated that 33m people are directly affected by the floods in Pakistan — a number so high that it is difficult for us to grapple with it.

Clearly, Pakistan will need aid to recover from this devastating blow: An early estimate suggests the country has suffered $10bn worth of damage but — given the cost of living crisis which is affecting most western countries — this is not the most propitious time to raise funds to aid a faraway nation.

Two satellite images show the landscape of Sukkur in Sindh province before (left) and after the flooding that has devastated Pakistan this week. Picture: Planet Labs PBC/PA

There’s an extra reason to help Pakistan, however, one which goes beyond the simple obligation to aid those who are worse off than yourself and who are in a life-or-death struggle.

Only the wilfully ignorant would deny that the ferocity of the weather in Pakistan is a result of climate change. 

The country’s leaders have pointed out that, as a nation, Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions yet is at the sharp end of the climate crisis.

As one government minister put it, people are enjoying their lives in the West but someone in Pakistan is paying the price.

It is important to recognise this as a basic tenet when it comes to climate change — the effect of one’s behaviour and personal choices on other people who are often at a significant disadvantage to begin with.

It is equally important to recognise the need to help those people when they suffer the consequences of our actions.