Journal of Social Systems and Policy Analysis
ISSN: 3068-5540 (Online)
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TY - JOUR AU - Farooq, Muhammad Umar PY - 2026 DA - 2026/02/10 TI - Climate Change and Policy Paralysis in Pakistan JO - Journal of Social Systems and Policy Analysis T2 - Journal of Social Systems and Policy Analysis JF - Journal of Social Systems and Policy Analysis VL - 3 IS - 1 SP - 26 EP - 36 DO - 10.62762/JSSPA.2026.546261 UR - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JSSPA.2026.546261 KW - climate change KW - policy paralysis KW - governance failure KW - public policy in pakistan KW - climate KW - adaptation KW - institutional capacity KW - federal–provincial coordination AB - Pakistan ranks among the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, experiencing recurrent floods, extreme heatwaves, droughts, and water insecurity despite contributing less than one percent to global greenhouse gas emissions. Although numerous climate policies and strategic frameworks have been formulated, their implementation remains substantially limited, exemplifying policy paralysis wherein political acknowledgement fails to translate into effective action. This study examines climate change through a public policy and governance lens, contending that the crisis represents primarily an institutional failure rather than insufficient awareness. Key drivers of policy paralysis include weak implementation mechanisms, federal-provincial fragmentation following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, short-term political incentives, donor-driven policy formulation, and inadequate evidence-based decision-making processes. The 2022 floods particularly illustrate how deficient planning, unregulated land use, and limited disaster preparedness amplified climate risks. This analysis reframes climate change as fundamentally a governance challenge, emphasizing the necessity of mainstreaming climate considerations into development planning, budgeting frameworks, and administrative reforms. Without strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing intergovernmental coordination, and committing to long-term climate resilience strategies, Pakistan will continue confronting recurrent climate emergencies, threatening economic stability and national security. SN - 3068-5540 PB - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge LA - English ER -
@article{Farooq2026Climate,
author = {Muhammad Umar Farooq},
title = {Climate Change and Policy Paralysis in Pakistan},
journal = {Journal of Social Systems and Policy Analysis},
year = {2026},
volume = {3},
number = {1},
pages = {26-36},
doi = {10.62762/JSSPA.2026.546261},
url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JSSPA.2026.546261},
abstract = {Pakistan ranks among the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, experiencing recurrent floods, extreme heatwaves, droughts, and water insecurity despite contributing less than one percent to global greenhouse gas emissions. Although numerous climate policies and strategic frameworks have been formulated, their implementation remains substantially limited, exemplifying policy paralysis wherein political acknowledgement fails to translate into effective action. This study examines climate change through a public policy and governance lens, contending that the crisis represents primarily an institutional failure rather than insufficient awareness. Key drivers of policy paralysis include weak implementation mechanisms, federal-provincial fragmentation following the 18th Constitutional Amendment, short-term political incentives, donor-driven policy formulation, and inadequate evidence-based decision-making processes. The 2022 floods particularly illustrate how deficient planning, unregulated land use, and limited disaster preparedness amplified climate risks. This analysis reframes climate change as fundamentally a governance challenge, emphasizing the necessity of mainstreaming climate considerations into development planning, budgeting frameworks, and administrative reforms. Without strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing intergovernmental coordination, and committing to long-term climate resilience strategies, Pakistan will continue confronting recurrent climate emergencies, threatening economic stability and national security.},
keywords = {climate change, policy paralysis, governance failure, public policy in pakistan, climate, adaptation, institutional capacity, federal–provincial coordination},
issn = {3068-5540},
publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}
Copyright © 2026 by the Author(s). Published by Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. 
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