Climate Finance Vulnerability Index (CliF-VI)
The Climate Finance Vulnerability Index (CliF-VI) is a data-driven tool designed to assess a country’s susceptibility to climate-related shocks alongside its financial capacity for response. Developed by Columbia Climate School in partnership with the Vulnerability and Capacity Index Consortium and supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, CliF-VI combines data on climate hazards such as floods and droughts with financial resilience indicators, including debt levels, governance quality, and access to capital. Additionally, the index incorporates a governance component to inform strategies for tailoring lending modalities, providing both high-level and detailed insights to support targeted adaptation financing where it is most needed.
On a global scale, CliF-VI addresses a critical analytical gap by integrating climate risk and financial vulnerability into a comprehensive framework. This integration enables aid organizations, financial institutions, and governments to allocate resources more equitably. Its interactive dashboard allows users to explore scenario projections for 2050 and 2080 under various climate pathway assumptions. Among the 65 countries categorized as “Red Zone,” representing the highest combined risks, Pakistan is identified alongside Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka as one of six Asia-Pacific nations most likely to require urgent support.
For Pakistan specifically, the data highlights significant challenges. Its Climate Finance Vulnerability Index (CliF-VI) score is 63.9, ranking 145th out of 188 countries, with a financial vulnerability score of 90.2 and a climate risk of 37.7, indicating high exposure coupled with limited capacity to adapt (clifvi.org). Between 2024 and 2025, the country experienced considerable climate-related stress: a heatwave in Sindh in summer 2024 with temperatures reaching 49°C resulted in over 568 fatalities; winter smog in Punjab affected approximately 1.8 million people; and monsoon-induced floods in 2025 caused over 300 deaths, injured 700 individuals, and destroyed around 1,600 homes across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In response, several validated financial initiatives have been mobilized to enhance Pakistan’s resilience to climate-related hazards. These include the World Bank Climate-Smart Agriculture and Livestock Project, which advocates for sustainable agricultural practices (World Bank, 2023); the Sindh Resilience Project, dedicated to flood protection, disaster risk mitigation, and the development of climate-resilient infrastructure (World Bank, 2023); and the Balochistan Rural Development and Climate Resilience Project, focusing on water resource management, rural livelihoods, and climate adaptation strategies (World Bank, 2023). These initiatives aim to enhance resilience, strengthen adaptive capacity, and integrate climate finance into national policy planning.
These developments underscore an urgent reality: Pakistan remains highly vulnerable and potentially just one extreme event away from systemic failure. The CliF-VI effectively captures this risk. Moving forward, it is critical to shift from reactive responses to proactive, scalable climate finance strategies preferably in grant formats that support early warning systems, infrastructure resilience, and inclusive financial solutions. Such approaches should be integrated into national policy and supported through international cooperation. The CliF-VI serves not only as a ranking but as a call to align vulnerability with strategic, substantial funding.