KARACHI: Climate change and financial exclusion are deeply interconnected, with the most vulnerable communities often having the least access to financial protection, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad said on Tuesday.

Addressing the inaugural session of a four-day joint learning programme organised by the SBP and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) in Islamabad, he said smallholder farmers, micro and small enterprises, and low-income households were most exposed to climate shocks but least likely to have insurance, savings or access to formal finance.

He stressed that climate finance must go beyond supporting green investments to help communities anticipate risks, build resilience and adapt to climate change.

Referring to the floods in 2022, Mr Ahmad said they caused nearly $15 billion in physical damage and another $15bn in economic losses, affecting more than 30 million people and damaging 2.2 million homes.

He said financial inclusion in Pakistan had reached 71 per cent, while the gender gap had narrowed to 27pc. The country was also sharing its Green Taxonomy and climate risk framework with regulators across the AFI network.

Highlighting the SBP’s regulatory measures, he cited the Green Banking Guidelines (2017), the Environmental and Social Risk Management Framework (2022), the Pakistan Green Taxonomy, and regulations on climate-related financial risks, including the Climate Stress Testing Guidelines issued in December 2025.

On women’s financial inclusion, he said the Pakistan Women Inclusive Finance Programme had been launched with support from the Asian Development Bank. Pakistan had also joined the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code in 2025, with the SBP serving as the financial industry’s anchor institution.

The programme has brought together 38 participants from central banks and financial regulators in 24 countries across four continents.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2026