Cash-strapped Pakistani government proposes budget, complete with funds to fight climate change

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s cash-strapped government has presented its draft for the national budget, allocating funds to fight climate change despite staggering $30 billion in losses from last summer’s devastating floods. Lawmakers heard theb proposal in the parliament on Friday. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s government has struggled with an unprecedented economic downturn since taking over last year. Meanwhile, talks with the International Monetary Fund for the revival of the $6 billion bailout package have been on the hold since December. The draft budget envisages $940 billion for the next fiscal year, starting July 1, including $1.3 billion for the government’s Climate Change Division — the agency in charge of projects meant to mitigate effects of climate change on the country.