UN chief calls Pakistan flooding 'unfair situation', urges all to aid countries non-participatory to global emissions

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has described Pakistan's flooding situation as "very unfair" and he urged the international community to assist countries that have not contributed to global emissions.

The UN chief made the statements on Saturday after visiting many flood-ravaged areas of Pakistan, concluding a two-day journey to raise awareness of the crisis, as reported by Dawn.

Guterres seated next to Sharif viewing flood-damaged areas from an aircraft window. "Unimaginable," Guterres said, surveying the damage, Dawn reported quoting a video released by the PM Office.

In an address today, he said that humanity had been waging war on nature and the nature was now striking back. "And nature strikes back in Sindh, but Sindh has not made the emission of greenhouse gases that have exacerbated climate change."

So, he went on, there was a "very unfair situation in relation to the level of destruction we are seeing in Sindh".

"And it is essential for the international community to understand that Pakistan including Sindh needs today massive financial support to overcome these crisis," the secretary general emphasised, saying that this was not the matter of generosity, but of justice.

He continued that the world needed to stop "this madness with which we are treating nature".

"According to the scientific community, we need to reduce emissions by 45 per cent now."

The UN chief called on the world to provide massive support to work on adaptation — to build resilient infrastructure, to support resilient communities and to create conditions for those who were in the hotspots of climate change, including Pakistan.

"And this needs a huge investment. That's why we are asking for a strong increase in financing of resilience infrastructure and adaption," he said.

Residents ride on a wooden boat as they pass submerged houses amid flood water, following rains and floods during the monsoon season in Bajara village, at the banks of Manchar lake, in Sehwan, Pakistan September 6, 2022. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Furthermore, Guterres expressed total solidarity with the Pakistani people. "We will do everything we can to raise awareness and request those who have the capacity to support Pakistan […] to request that they do it, they do it now, they do it massively and they do it looking into the preparation to face future challenges."

"Our commitment, strong and emotional solidarity is something you can count on," he added.

Later, the UN chief visited Larkana and met the flood-affectees. He assured them that UN had appealed to the world for aid in the wake of the catastrophic floods, stressing that it was essential for the world to take responsibility of its actions.

Guterres was also briefed about the situation in Sindh and Balochistan by provincial authorities.

The secretary-general's call to action came as Pakistan logged another five fatalities - three of whom were children - in the previous 24-hour period, according to NDMA's daily situation update. Cumulatively, there are 1,396 fatalities since mid-June, 499 of whom are children.