BUDGET 2026-27: ‘Shocking’ climate budget cut draws warning from Sherry Rehman

Presiding over a committee meeting, Rehman said the country is facing intensifying heatwaves, accelerated glacier melt, erratic rainfall patterns, increasing water scarcity, and deteriorating urban environmental conditions. She stressed that monsoon preparedness must remain an immediate national priority, calling for stronger institutional coordination to address what she described as a growing “climate polycrisis”. Expressing concern over shrinking financial commitments, the committee noted that the Climate Mi­­nistry’s Public Sector Development Program­­me allocation dropped to Rs2.478 billion, down from Rs3.5bn in the previous fiscal cycle. “Climate risks are increasing, not decreasing, yet allocations continue to shrink,” Rehman said, also pointing to the ministry’s limited capacity to fully utilise already allocated funds. The senator questioned the rationale behind establishing parallel institutions such as the proposed Climate Authority. She asked what additional role the authority would serve beyond the existing ministry, warning against creating bureaucratic overlaps that add to the financial burden. Citing official figures, Reh­m­­an noted that losses of state-owned enterprises reached Rs832.848bn in fiscal year 2025, with cumulative losses exceeding Rs6.5tr, while another Rs451bn had been allocated to such entities in the current budget. Turning to the upcoming monsoon season, the committee received briefings from the National Disaste