Environmental proximity between Pakistan and India makes the two neighbouring countries similarly vulnerable to climate induced threats. Patterns show that climate disasters in Pakistan are replicated on the eastern side of the border and vice versa. In 2022, flash floods during monsoon season unleashed havoc in Pakistan killing up to 1700 people and displacing millions. Within a year, torrential rains followed by similar looking floods have swept northern parts of India and the IIOJK claiming up to 100 lives. The South Asian Monsoon season, also known as the ‘western disturbance’, accounts for 80 percent of the total annual rainfall in the region from June to September. With climate change adversely impacting weather patterns around the globe, the intensity of monsoon rains in Pakistan and India has also risen.

Glaciers serve as the chief sources of rivers that originate from the northern parts of Pakistan and India. Global warming results in the melting of these precious glaciers which in the end raises downstream water levels. Following the traditions of ancient civilisations, river plains in Pakistan and India have become densely populated urban centres, towns, hill stations, and tourist resorts. With tons of glacial ice melting and becoming part of rivers each year, and spells of torrential monsoon downpour, these populated river plains get flooded, causing loss of lives, property, livelihoods, and mass displacement. Official estimates of Pakistan’s finance division state that 2022 floods caused USD 14.9 billion loss to the economy and the total need for rehabilitation stands at USD 16.3 billion. On the other hand, 2023 floods in India caused INR 10,000 – 15,000 Crore worth of economic damages according to an initial assessment report by the State Bank of India (SBI).

Multiple international climate change surveys have ranked both India and Pakistan as countries highly vulnerable to climate change. By ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, both countries have pledged to shape domestic policies in ways that protect the environment. Islamabad formally formed the Ministry of Climate Change in 2015, while Delhi renamed its environment ministry to Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change a year earlier. Both countries have also recently adopted comprehensive climate change policies to mitigate the growing impacts of global warming. However, there has to be a comprehensive framework on climate change that includes coordination and collaboration between the two governments. The Indus Water Treaty between the two governments sets precedent that both the countries need to cooperate over mutual concerns.

Major cause of inaction on climate change in both South Asian countries is the lack of funds. A comprehensive bilateral climate framework may pave way for a climate fund to encourage projects aiming to protect the environment, and to enable both countries to further enhance regional cooperation. Accessing international monetary institutions and donors such as the World Bank, IMF, ADP, and the Global Environment Fund in a collective manner may prove to be more productive for both Pakistan and India. Apart from the international grants and funds, such a bilateral engagement will enable both countries to pledge funds to mitigate the adversities of climate disasters on both sides of the border. Moreover, bilateral climate cooperation will significantly minimize the trust deficit that exists on both sides, and may improve the overall bilateral relations between Islamabad and Delhi.

The cooperation at the regional level will enable environmental protection programs from both sides such as the Billion Tree Tsunami Project (BTTP), National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, and the National Adaptation Plan to go cross border in the initial phase, and international in later phases, contributing to regional and global environment protection efforts. Any collective effort involving Pakistan and India will set a positive example for the world to follow. A collaborative effort targeting the transition to greener, low carbon emitting economies may be achieved by the inclusion of private investment enterprises from both India and Pakistan. For instance, both countries may consolidate a fund to produce clean energy, or work jointly for the research and development of environment friendly infrastructure that benefits people of both countries. There are countless avenues of cooperation between India and Pakistan on the climate front provided if there is will.

In order to kick start a potential bilateral cooperation, the concerned ministries of both countries may begin by sharing relevant data with each other. Limited data sharing mechanisms under the Indus Water Treaty may be expanded to include other domains related to environment protection. Think tanks and educational institutions need to be mobilized on both sides of the border to ensure the involvement of academia. Governments would only act if adequate pressure is applied through the civil society, mainly comprising climate activists from both Pakistan and India. If both countries can militarize the Siachen glacier 5,400 meters above sea level, then they can also cooperate to jointly protect it from melting. Not only the glaciers, but a potential Indo-Pak climate cooperation would protect the agriculture base of economies of both the countries. It may also address the subject of poor air quality in the urban centres of both India and Pakistan. We must realize that the scourge of climate change is hazardous for both Pakistanis and Indians, and that it should not be politicized.