Impact of Climate Change on Sustainable Development: A District-Level Analysis in Pakistan

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been an increase in weather and climatic extremes that cause natural
disasters. Such occurrences, along with socioeconomic shifts that heighten their exposure and raise
the possibility of maladaptation, are hindering the economic and social growth of developing
nations. This study aims to examine the impact of climate change on sustainable development at
the district level in Pakistan by estimating the overall results using OLS regression, system GMM,
and quantile regression. The period span of the study is from 2004 to 2019. The main objective of
the study is to construct the sustainable development index (SDI) and the inequality-adjusted
sustainable development index (ISDI). The study's hypothesis that climate change has a negative
impact on sustainable development is supported by the findings. The results indicate that
precipitation and maximum temperatures and sex ratio have negatively significant impact on
sustainable development while wind speed shows inconsistency in the results. However, the
minimum temperature is showing positive and significant impact on sustainable development. On
the other hand, the dependency ratio and household size vary in estimation as both variables have
complex and multifaceted relationship with sustainable development. The ICT has both negative
and positive impacts on sustainable development but on average the overall impact of ICT is
positive and significant. Ownership of assets also have positive and significant impact on
sustainable development. The study suggests that Pakistan should introduce safe modes of energy
to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Districts should adopt policies that are suitable
for them according to their area like districts having more severe temperature should use solar
energy. On the other hand, through the use of green infrastructure solutions including rain gardens,
permeable pavement, and green roofs, floods can be control for the districts facing heavy rainfalls.