Debate: Humanitarian situation after the devastating floods in Pakistan and the climate crisis
Date: WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2022
Speaker: Janusz Wojciechowski
Language: EN

The devastation has been what United Nations Secretary General Guterres called ‘climate carnage’. Over 33 million people have been affected by the floods. Almost 1 700 people have lost their lives. At least 8 million have been displaced from their homes. Millions of houses have been completely destroyed or ruined. Almost 4 million acres of crops and arable land impacted. Over one third of the country is submerged by the floods. The floods have also triggered outbreaks of disease and thrown people into food insecurity, literally overnight.  The European Union has been the very first immediate responder on the ground among donors. We initially mobilised over EUR 2 million in humanitarian aid to assist flood—affected communities in the hardest hit regions. This support has included emergency shelter, food, water and sanitation, cash and primary health care. Through our Union Civil Protection Mechanism, we have also coordinated and financially supported the delivery of assistance from seven EU Member States so far – Belgium, Sweden, France, Greece, Austria, Denmark and Slovenia. They have provided tents and water purification systems and sent doctors and many other types of support urgently requested by the Pakistani authorities. I sincerely thank them for their support.  We also activated the European Union’s emergency satellite service, Copernicus, to provide satellite images to help monitor the situation. We have our European Union humanitarian expert on the ground in the hardest hit regions. Commissioner Lenarčič is himself visiting the most affected regions across Pakistan this week, where he has announced the proposals for an additional EUR 30 million in humanitarian aid. With this funding, we will be able to maintain support for their response over the coming months.  The European Commission is also mobilising experts to carry out the post—disaster needs assessment jointly with the UN and the World Bank. Also, from the European Union Development Corporation side, there is already short-term support under way for the adaptation of ongoing development programmes in the worst—hit provinces to support nutrition, agriculture, water and sanitation.  Beyond the immediate response, the European Union is also supporting the Pakistani authorities in the area of disaster preparedness, anticipatory action, early warning system and more. Because preventing is better than only responding.  This flood has shown we need to do more to tackle climate change, not only respond to its humanitarian consequences. Just as stability in Pakistan is in our own interests, so Pakistan has an interest to work closely with the European Union. The European Union is Pakistan’s second most important trading partner over the last ten years, and especially since 2014, when the Generalised Scheme of Preference, a trade preferential assistance scheme, was awarded. Since then, imports of the EU 27 from Pakistan have almost doubled.  Trade and economy are key pillars of our cooperation, but beyond that there is a lot of unexploited potential for further cooperation under the Strategic Engagement Plan, notably in security, given the important position of Pakistan in the region.  I look forward to hearing your views in the course of our debate.