The Politics of Climate: South Asian Geopolitics and Pakistani Responses to Global Climate Negotiations

Abstract

The strategic location of Pakistan in South Asian climate geopolitics and its reactions to the global climate negotiations, especially those conducted by Conference of the Parties (COP) and Group of Twenty (G20), is explored in this research paper. Based on the latest trends of COP27-30, the paper will examine how Pakistan has used its climate vulnerability (i.e. the disastrous 2022 floods and frequent 2025 monsoon disasters) to push climate justice and the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund. The study explores the multifaceted nature of interactions between the regional forces, especially the India-Pakistan-China triangle, and the capacity of Pakistan to manoeuvre in the international climate forums. This paper will claim based on policy analysis and discussion of diplomatic language, that although Pakistan has not been without triumphs on a symbolic level in the climate negotiations, structural factors such as institutional capacity, economic turmoil, and regional geopolitical tensions still stand in the way of successful climate diplomacy. The recent information on the 2025 floods that led to 946 fatalities, 6.9 million individuals, and enormous agricultural and infrastructure damages supports the increasing trend of weather disasters. It turns out that the climate negotiation approach that Pakistan uses aims at the point where vulnerability is exploited, coalition formation with the Global South, and great power competition is overcome, but it still struggles to transform diplomatic achievement into practical climate finance and adaptation aid.