Tabadlab unveils climate debt swap database as Pakistan pushes for innovative financing

In a bold push to confront the dual crises of climate vulnerability and mounting debt, Pakistan joined hands with global development experts at a high-level roundtable hosted by Tabadlab on the sidelines of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) this week.

Titled “Swapping out Debt for Development: The DCS Financing Approach,” the session brought together finance and climate leaders to spotlight Debt-for-Climate Swaps (DCS) as a way to create breathing room for economies under stress while still meeting climate targets.

Pakistan’s delegation featured some of its top decision-makers, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Climate Ministers Musadik Malik and Shezra Mansab.

“We’re joined at the hip,” Aurangzeb said, referring to the finance and climate ministries’ growing cooperation. And that alignment, according to global climate financing experts, is exactly what’s needed to unlock innovative funding instruments.

Kevin Bender, director at The Nature Conservancy, called Pakistan’s progress on DCS “unprecedented”, noting how rare it is for countries to reach such a level of inter-ministerial coordination so early in the process.

At the event, Tabadlab launched the beta version of a new Debt-for-Climate Swaps Database, which tracks 158 transactions across 43 countries since 1987. The open-access tool was met with enthusiasm by officials, UN representatives, and climate finance experts from around the world.

By presenting evidence and examples, Tabadlab helped position DCS as a serious option in the global development finance toolkits, especially for countries like Pakistan, where debt servicing and climate resilience are competing for limited fiscal space.