PAKISTAN, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND FOOD SECURITY: SECTORAL ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL CLIMATE POLICY AND IMPLEMENTATION LACUNAS

Abstract

Pakistan ranks among the nations that are highly vulnerable to the negative impact of climate change and there are grave consequences on food security, agricultural yield, water supply, health and social stability. The paper analyses the Pakistani climate change and food security connection through a sectoral approach, which will include the National Climate Change Policy, National Security Policy 20222026, Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and corresponding response frameworks. The researcher assumes a sequential explanatory mixed-method research design. The first of the strands collects quantitative data on secondary sources after 2020, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Economic Forum (WEF), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The second strand uses Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to the key policy texts to evaluate the way in which the issue of climate change is being framed as a security and development problem. Results show that climate change is already impacting crop production, food costs, hydrologic strain, displacement and financial load in Pakistan. Policy analysis also reveals that although climate risks are gaining increasing recognition in the official discourse, the process is very fragmented, underfunded, and poorly coordinated. The conclusion of the paper is that climate change has emerged as a structural issue in food security within Pakistan, yet policy implementation is limited by institutional silos and ineffective enforcement strategies.