Islamabad, 11 December 2025
The Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC), in collaboration with the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and in collaboration with the Embassy of France in Pakistan, co-hosted a high-level Post-COP30 Dialogue titled “From Paris to Belém: Ten Years After the Paris Agreement – The Road Travelled and the Journey Ahead.” The dialogue brought together senior policymakers, diplomats, climate experts, and development practitioners to assess global climate action a decade after the Paris Agreement and to reflect on pathways ahead for climate-vulnerable countries such as Pakistan. The event featured distinguished speakers including Ms. Aisha Humera Moriani, Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination; H.E. Mr. Nicolas Galey, Ambassador of France to Pakistan; Ambassador Nabeel Munir, Special Secretary (United Nations), Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ms. Aisha Khan, Chief Executive, CSCCC; Dr. Abid Suleri, Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI); and Mr. Hiz Jamali, Senior Climate Change Officer, Asian Development Bank (ADB). Opening the session, Dr. Neelum Nigar welcomed participants and stated that the dialogue aimed to critically reflect on ten years of global climate negotiations while identifying practical and equitable pathways forward. She emphasized that COP30 outcomes reinforce the need for sustained cooperation, credible implementation, and informed policy responses, particularly for countries on the frontlines of climate impacts. In his welcome remarks, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, Director General, ISSI, observed that deliberations at COP30 in Belém took place amid a strained multilateral climate environment marked by geopolitical tensions and trust deficits. While reaffirming the centrality of collective action, he highlighted persistent gaps between climate ambition and delivery—especially in relation to finance, just transitions, and the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund. He underscored Pakistan’s disproportionate vulnerability despite its minimal contribution to global emissions and called for predictable, accessible, and grant-based climate finance rooted in long-term international solidarity. Speaking on behalf of civil society, Ms. Aisha Khan, Chief Executive, CSCCC, stressed the importance of grounding climate discourse in evidence, equity, and national preparedness. She noted that ten years after the Paris Agreement, progress must be assessed with honesty, acknowledging persistent gaps in ambition, delivery, and political will. Highlighting the shift from a pre-COP to a post-COP dialogue format, she emphasized the value of reflection and collective learning in shaping Pakistan’s climate positioning for COP31 and future negotiations. She further called for moving beyond reactive crisis management toward proactive, resilience-based planning informed by data and regional cooperation. Delivering the keynote address, Ms. Aisha Humera Moriani, Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination, described COP30 as a critical implementation-focused conference. She outlined Pakistan’s submission of NDC 3.0, extending to 2035, as a more ambitious and consultative national commitment. She emphasized that the global ambition gap lies not in mitigation targets but in inadequate means of implementation—particularly finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building. Warning that accelerating climate impacts threaten Pakistan’s food security, water resources, infrastructure, and public health, she reiterated that adaptation finance must be grant-based to avoid deepening debt vulnerabilities. While welcoming the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund, she stressed the need for substantial capitalisation, simplified procedures, and direct access. She also highlighted the growing role of provinces, academia, and joint research initiatives in advancing climate action. As Guest of Honour, Ambassador Nicolas Galey reflected on the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement against a backdrop of growing global fragmentation. He noted that scientific consensus itself is increasingly contested, even as climate impacts intensify and the 1.5°C threshold was breached in 2024. Acknowledging Pakistan’s repeated exposure to floods and heat extremes, he reaffirmed France’s commitment to climate justice and ecological transition. He highlighted France’s legally binding goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, a 19 percent reduction in national emissions since 2017, and sustained annual climate finance exceeding €6 billion for developing countries. He also commended ongoing climate and gender-focused collaborations in Pakistan and encouraged deeper engagement with government, academia, and civil society. Providing a diplomatic assessment of COP30 outcomes, Ambassador Nabeel Munir described Belém as reflective of widening global divides, while also acknowledging important recognitions such as the possibility of temperature overshoot. He welcomed commitments to scale up adaptation finance by 2035 but cautioned that unclear baselines, timelines, and definitions could undermine effectiveness. Referring to Pakistan’s NDC 3.0 target of a 50 percent emissions reduction pathway by 2035, he emphasized that national ambition must be matched by accessible finance and affordable technologies. He reiterated Pakistan’s position that adaptation finance must be grant-based, noting that even concessional loans are unsustainable for climate-stressed economies. During the panel discussion, Dr. Abid Suleri traced the evolution of global climate governance from Kyoto to Paris and now Belém. He observed that while developing countries have demonstrated willingness to act through NDCs, progress remains constrained by inadequate finance, geopolitical stalemates, and inequitable burden-sharing. He advocated for bottom-up climate governance, where district-level realities inform national commitments, and called for a regional coalition in South Asia to address shared ecological risks. From a development finance perspective, Mr. Hiz Jamali highlighted that implementation bottlenecks, rather than funding availability, often limit climate action. He pointed to delays in disbursement and project execution, while noting that development banks increasingly rely on blended finance, regional approaches, and private-sector mobilisation. He emphasized the importance of bankable project design, strong institutional capacity, and transparent monitoring to unlock larger climate and resilience financing flows for Pakistan. The dialogue concluded with an interactive discussion focusing on strengthening domestic institutional capacity amid an increasingly complex global climate governance landscape. Participants agreed that the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement should serve not only as a moment of reflection but also as a catalyst for renewed ambition, deeper collaboration, and sustained climate diplomacy. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Ambassador Khalid Mahmood, Chairman, Board of Governors, ISSI, followed by the presentation of mementos to the distinguished speakers.